The Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the Western District of Texas against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for wrongfully terminating an employee who fell while delivering mail and reported the work-related injury, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced May 8.
An OSHA investigation found that the USPS violated the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act by firing the worker on February 27, 2024, 10 days after the injury was reported. Section 11(c) of the OSH Act prohibits employer retaliation against an employee who reports a workplace injury or illness, files a safety or health complaint, or participates in an OSHA inspection or investigation.
The DOL’s suit asks the court to hold the USPS liable for illegal retaliation and require payment of back wages and damages.
The act established OSHA’s authority to investigate whistleblower complaints and weigh any evidence of retaliation. The agency now enforces whistleblower protections under more than 20 federal statutes, including aviation, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, food, motor vehicle, nuclear, and pipeline safety, as well as anti-money laundering, criminal antitrust, environmental, financial reform, health insurance reform, maritime, public transportation, railroad, securities, and tax laws.
OSHA and the DOL have had several other whistleblower cases involving the USPS. Last fall, the DOL petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to force the USPS to comply with OSHA subpoenas in a whistleblower investigation at the USPS’s New Salem, Pennsylvania, facility. In the New Salem case, an employee was allegedly suspended after reporting a work-related injury and safety hazards involving an assigned vehicle.
In May 2024, a federal judge in Oregon ordered the USPS to pay $141,307 in lost wages and damages to a probationary mail carrier who was fired after reporting an on-the-job injury to a supervisor and filing an accident report.
The DOL has filed several federal lawsuits since 2020 to protect USPS probationary employees who were similarly fired after reporting injuries in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Since 2020, OSHA has resolved whistleblower investigations in California, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey.
AIHA launches mobile app for indoor heat hazard protection
On May 8, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) announced the release of Heat Stress App 2.0, a mobile tool that now includes risk factors unique to indoor work environments.
The new version followed the launch of the AIHA’s original heat stress app, which helped outdoor workers and their employers assess job-related heat health risks.
The heat stress app for indoor workers measures the following heat risk factors that can pose health risks for workers in an indoor space:
- Indoor temperature (exact temperature or temperature difference between outdoors and indoors);
- Relative humidity;
- Non-solar heat irradiance (radiation emitted from hot equipment or material that may contribute to environmental heat);
- Wind speed;
- Workload intensity (light, moderate, heavy, or very heavy); and
- Clothing worn.
“While heat stress risks for outdoor workers are more obvious due to intense sunlight and high outdoor temperatures and humidity levels, heat stress that workers face in indoor environments may be vastly underestimated—especially when there is a localized heat source, such as a hot oven or furnace,” AIHA CEO Lawrence D. Sloan said in a statement.