Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani South Jersey Partners Melissa J. Brown and Jonathan R. Stuckel, with the assistance of Associate Shawn McBrearty, recently secured the dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation complaint filed under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act on behalf of a logistics and distribution company operating in Pennsylvania.
A former employee alleged that he was terminated in retaliation for raising concerns regarding workplace safety, specifically relating to a forklift battery charging station, and for filing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety complaint. The employee claimed that his termination constituted unlawful retaliation for engaging in protected activity under the act.
The GRSM South Jersey team submitted a comprehensive position statement demonstrating that the employee’s termination was based on misconduct and the violation of company policies, not retaliation. The investigation revealed that the employee had filed a federal complaint using another employee’s name without authorization, which constituted a serious breach of company computer usage and conduct policies.
After completing its investigation, OSHA agreed with the company’s position and determined that there was no reasonable cause to believe the employer violated Section 11(c). OSHA concluded that the employer had established it would have taken the same adverse action regardless of any alleged protected activity and dismissed the complaint in its entirety.
This result highlights GRSM’s ability to effectively defend employers against whistleblower retaliation claims through detailed factual investigations, strategic advocacy, and clear presentation of legitimate, non-retaliatory business reasons for employment decisions.