An Andersonville, Tenn.-based contract mail carrier has been ordered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reinstate a former employee and pay $62,090 in compensatory and punitive damages plus more than two years of back wages, interest, benefits and attorney's fees.


The federal order follows OSHA's determination that the company violated the employee's rights under the whistleblower provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by terminating the employee for complaining about defective vehicles.

"Putting defective trucks on American roads endangers the company's drivers and all other motor vehicle operators who share the road with a truck that is improperly maintained. Drivers have a right to complain without fear of retaliation when they are asked to operate an unsafe vehicle," said Teresa A. Harrison, OSHA's acting regional administrator in Atlanta.

According to OSHA, Heartland Transportation is a contract mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. In August 2009, the employee was assigned to deliver a truckload of U.S. mail to a customer in Pontiac, Mich., when he found that his assigned trailer had a nonworking light.

OSHA reports that after complaining, the light was repaired and the delivery made. The employee had complained about such mechanical failures on a number of previous occasions, but the problems recurred. The driver informed his employer that he would not drive trucks with such failures in the future.

"After returning to the company's facility from Michigan, the driver found that his name had been removed from the driving schedule. He inquired about this development, and, during a meeting to discuss the issue, was informed that his employment was terminated. The employee then submitted a whistleblower complaint to OSHA," OSHA stated.

According to the Department of Labor, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. The Labor Department sys employees who believe they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor for an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program.