The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has filed a whistleblower protection complaint against a Missouri carbon fiber manufacturer that fired a production worker who had contacted the agency over “various safety concerns,” the Department of Labor announced Thursday.
OSHA investigated the worker’s allegation that his employer Zoltek Corp. of St. Peters, Missouri, fired him in April 2019 in retaliation for his reporting unsafe working conditions 14 days earlier. OSHA filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, on March 9, 2021.
The complaint seeks back wages, reinstatement and damages for the employee, and an order requiring Zoltek to post a notice regarding employees’ rights to report unsafe working conditions without fear of retaliation.
The company, which OSHA said is disputing the allegations, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will hold a public meeting about potential whistleblowing issues in the health care and retail industries and ways it can provide better assistance, the agency announced on the Federal Register.