Whistleblower Calls on Dept. of Labor to Enforce Order on Reinstatement
WC Monitor
8/29/2014
A former employee at Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions who was found to be improperly terminated from her job called on the Department of Labor this week to move to enforce an order directing her immediate reinstatement. Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration directed WRPS to reinstate Shelly Doss, a former environmental specialist, and provide back pay and damages. Doss had alleged that she was laid off in 2011 in retaliation for reporting permit violations, recordkeeping errors, and lack of adherence to regulations.
This week, Doss’s attorney Tom Carpenter, who also serves as executive director of the watchdog group Hanford Challenge, called on OSHA to move to enforce its order directing that Doss be reinstated. “Shelly Doss is ready to return to work immediately. Yet WRPS has not moved to follow the Order of the Secretary. … I request that you bring this matter to the Solicitor of Labor to move for injunctive relief in federal court to enforce the Secretary’s order of reinstatement,” Carpenter wrote in an Aug. 26 letter to OSHA chief David Michaels. “Ms. Doss is a mother of three children, one with special needs, and has been out of work for nearly three years. She has suffered economic hardship, emotional distress and career damage as a result of WRPS wrongful and illegal actions. She should not have to wait for a reinstatement order to take effect years down the road, following an administrative hearing and possible appeals. To fail to reinstate Ms. Doss at this juncture rewards the company and continues to punish the employee who was victimized,” Carpenter wrote.
WRPS is still considering whether or not to appeal OSHA’s order to an administrative law judge, with the company having 30 days from Aug. 19 to make a decision, according to contractor spokesman John Britton. Britton reiterated this week WRPS’ position that Doss was not laid off as an act of retaliation. “The employee was one of more than 200 employees who were laid off by the company in the fall of 2011 to align its employment levels with project work scope and federal funding. The employee’s raising of safety or environmental questions was not a factor in the selection for lay-off,” Britton said in a statement provided to WC Monitor. “Washington River Protection Solutions is committed to conducting its work at Hanford safely and in compliance with applicable requirements. Each WRPS employee is empowered and encouraged to raise safety or other workplace concerns,” he said.
