Transport firm ordered to reinstate employee fired for whistleblowing

A prisoner transport company has been ordered to reinstate an employee who was allegedly terminated for complaining about the unsafe actions of a co-worker.

The U.S. Department of Labor ordered Melbourne, Florida-based U.S. Corrections LLC to reinstate the worker who reported commercial motor vehicle safety violations made by a fellow employee, and to pay more than $70,000 to the worker in back wages, $30,000 in punitive damages, $7,341 in compensatory damages and $30,000 in emotional distress damages and attorney fees, the department said in a statement Monday.

According to the department, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators found that U.S. Corrections violated the whistleblower provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act when it terminated a worker for reporting that a fellow employee regularly violated U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, including driving faster than posted speed limits and maintaining inaccurate driving logs.

U.S. Corrections was also ordered to train managers and employees on workers’ rights under the STAA. The company does have an opportunity to appeal the order to the DOL’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.