§1367 Employee protection

Summary

Protects employees and their authorized representatives from being fired or punished for filing or starting a case, for causing a case to be filed, or for testifying (or planning to testify) under this law. If an employee or their representative thinks they were fired or treated unfairly for those reasons, they must ask the Secretary of Labor to review it within 30 days of the action. The person accused gets a copy. The Secretary will investigate and can hold a public hearing if any party asks. Parties must get written notice at least 5 days before the hearing. Hearings will be on the record and follow the procedures in section 554 of title 5. If the Secretary finds a violation, the Secretary will order actions to fix it, which can include rehiring or back pay. If no violation is found, the application is denied. The Secretary’s order can be reviewed in court the same way Administrator orders are reviewed under this chapter. If the Secretary orders a violation to be fixed, the person who broke the law may have to pay the applicant’s reasonable costs and attorney’s fees as the Secretary decides. The protections do not apply to an employee who, on their own and not following employer directions, willfully breaks certain pollution or performance rules listed in sections 1311, 1312, 1316, or 1317 or other limits under this chapter. The Administrator must keep checking whether effluent limits or orders might cause job losses or plant closures and investigate when employees claim they were fired, laid off, threatened, or discriminated against for those reasons. The Administrator will investigate, hold public hearings on at least 5 days’ notice if requested, make findings and recommendations, and make the report public. The Administrator cannot be forced or allowed to change or cancel any effluent limit or order.