A Georgia-based trucking firm has been ordered to reinstate a fired south suburban truck driver and pay him more than $190,000 in back wages and damages because he was fired for lodging complaints against the firm.
The Sauk Village driver was terminated by Interline Logistics Group after reporting safety concerns about brakes on his truck and refusing to violate U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for allowable driving and rest hours, a release from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said.
OSHA also ordered the company to stop retaliating against the driver for exercising federally-protected rights.
The driver — whose name was not released — filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA, claiming he was fired after notifying the company about the deficient brakes. The company had sent the driver to a repair shop to service the brakes and he was then told to go to his dispatch location to pick up a return load, the release said.
But the driver refused, saying he was over the work hours allowed by federal regulations. The following day, the driver was terminated for failing to follow dispatch instructions, according to the company. However, OSHA found reasonable cause to believe the disciplinary charges and termination were not for breaking a company work rule but for reporting a safety issue, the release said.
Interline Logistics, which is headquartered in Kennesaw, Ga., can file an appeal with the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, but the preliminary reinstatement order will stand, the release said.
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