November 4, 2024

Department of Labor seeks reinstatement, back wages from Pennsylvania manufacturer that allegedly fired worker for raising safety concerns

Lawsuit claims Red Lion Controls violated federal whistleblower protections

YORK, PA - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against a York manufacturing company alleging the company wrongly terminated an employee who raised safety concerns when directed to use a ladder to move stock items when they believed a forklift would be safer.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the action follows an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that determined Red Lion Controls Inc. violated the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act by firing the employee for refusing to use a ladder to complete the task.

Specifically, the employee reported that they could not maintain the required three points of contact to ensure ladder safety and needed to use a forklift. Investigators also learned the company negated the employee's concerns and responded that the task could "easily" be done while on a ladder and suggested other employees were able to use a ladder to complete the task. After the employee held firm, the company terminated them.

"Every worker deserves a safe workplace and the freedom to report unsafe conditions without the threat of retaliation," said OSHA Regional Administrator Michael Rivera in Philadelphia. "Employers must understand that retaliation or termination for speaking up about hazards is not only unlawful but undermines the protections meant to keep workers safe."

The department's suit asks the court to hold Red Lion Controls liable for illegal retaliation, and to reinstate them and pay back wages and damages.

"When employees exercise their right to report unsafe workplace conditions and face any form of retaliation, we will pursue all legal remedies to ensure employees are made whole and employers do not engage in similar conduct in the future," said Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia.

A subsidiary of HMS Networks AB, a provider of industrial information and communication technology, Red Lion Controls Inc. serves customers in factory automation, alternative energy, oil and gas, power and utilities, transportation, water and wastewater industries. 

OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the whistleblower provisions of 25 whistleblower statutes protecting employees from retaliation for reporting violations of various workplace safety and health, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, securities, tax, criminal antitrust, and anti-money laundering laws. For more information on whistleblower protections, visit OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Programs webpage.

Editor's note: The U.S. Department of Labor does not release the names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.

Media Contact: 

Leni Fortson, 215-861-5102, uddyback-fortson.lenore@dol.gov

Release Number:  24-2264-PHI