Driver receives payout after being terminated for refusing to violate HOS regs

June 7, 2024

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A Houston company has been ordered to pay nearly $15,000 to a trucker who was fired in 2020 for refusing to violate hours-of-service regulations.

On Tuesday, June 4, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that Crane Masters Inc. violated federal law when it fired Earnest Bell, a company driver, after he refused to exceed HOS regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Bell told the company that, after working 19 hours on June 4, 2020, it would be unsafe for him to drive as he had not gotten the legally required 10 hours off duty between shifts. In response, the Houston-based crane and rigging company terminated the driver.

Court documents indicate that Bell claimed to have complained about being forced to work outside the allowed hours-of-service limits “a few times” during his tenure with the company.

In its report, the agency determined Crane Masters Inc. fired Bell illegally after the driver exercised his protected rights under the federal Whistleblower Protection Program.

“Congress enacted the world’s first whistleblower protections in 1778 to ensure that people who come forward to report illegal behaviors or actions don’t suffer for doing what’s right,” OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin said in a statement. “In this case, Crane Masters Inc. was held accountable for retaliating against an employee who acted responsibly by raising their concerns about endangering themselves and others by operating a commercial vehicle without sufficient rest.”

According to the DOL, those statues include “provisions that generally provide that employers may not discharge or otherwise retaliate against an employee because the employee has filed a complaint or exercised any other rights provided to employees by the statute.”

On May 13, a federal Administrative Law Judge issued a decision upholding OSHA’s findings and ordered the company to pay Bell $14,945 in back pay, interest and compensatory damages. In his decision, the judge also ordered the company to expunge Bell’s record and post a notice to employees.

“Once again, the Department of Labor has vigorously enforced the rights of employees who report safety or regulatory violations,” Regional Solicitor John Rainwater said. “Whistleblower rights are crucial to the safety of employees and the public at-large. A federal judge upheld the department’s contention that Crane Masters wrongly retaliated against a hard-working employee for doing what’s right.” LL