Company ordered to rehire fired trucker who raised safety concerns

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered the rehiring of a commercial truck driver who was fired after raising workplace safety concerns.

OSHA found that the employee of Stephenson, Virginia-based W-L Construction & Paving Inc., a subsidiary of Dublin-based buildings material company CRH PLC, was wrongfully terminated in September 2023 after raising concerns that the “loads and routes their employer routinely assigned left them fatigued and ill, endangering themselves and others on the road,” the agency said.

The employee, whose name was not disclosed, had been cited by the company for 10 attendance infractions – both being absent and leaving early – and was subsequently fired.

Following a whistleblower investigation, OSHA ordered W-L Construction & Paving to reinstate the driver. It also ordered the company to pay the driver $58,318.25 in back wages and interest, $115,694 in compensatory damages, $10,000 in punitive damages and unspecified attorneys fees.

OSHA said it notified the company in July 2023 that the driver’s assigned work exceeded federal safety requirements for rest breaks and driving limits but that it ignored the driver’s concerns.