42 U.S.C. § 6971: Employee protection

Summary

Protects employees and their representatives from being fired or punished for filing cases or testifying under this law or any implementation plan. If an employee or their representative thinks they were punished, they must apply to the Secretary of Labor within 30 days. The Secretary will investigate and will hold a public hearing if any party asks, with at least five days’ written notice. Hearings will be on the record and follow federal hearing rules. If the Secretary finds a violation, they will order steps to fix it, which can include rehiring or restoring the person with pay. If no violation is found, the Secretary will deny the claim. The Secretary can also order the violator to pay the applicant’s reasonable costs and attorney’s fees if asked. This protection does not cover an employee who, on their own and without employer direction, deliberately breaks the law. The Administrator must watch for job losses or shifts caused by enforcing this law and look into threatened plant closures or layoffs. Any affected employee or representative can ask the Administrator to investigate and request public hearings with at least five days’ notice. The Administrator will report findings and recommendations publicly but cannot require changing any standard or rule. To help with worker safety under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Administrator must give the OSHA Secretary and the NIOSH Director information about hazardous waste sites, the hazards and protections for workers, incidents of worker injury or harm, and notify them of certain reports and notifications under sections 6930, 6922, 6923, and 6924.

Title 42, §6971

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)General

No person shall fire, or in any other way discriminate against, or cause to be fired or discriminated against, any employee or any authorized representative of employees by reason of the fact that such employee or representative has filed, instituted, or caused to be filed or instituted any proceeding under this chapter or under any applicable implementation plan, or has testified or is about to testify in any proceeding resulting from the administration or enforcement of the provisions of this chapter or of any applicable implementation plan.

(b)Remedy

Any employee or a representative of employees who believes that he has been fired or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of subsection (a) of this section may, within thirty days after such alleged violation occurs, apply to the Secretary of Labor for a review of such firing or alleged discrimination. A copy of the application shall be sent to such person who shall be the respondent. Upon receipt of such application, the Secretary of Labor shall cause such investigation to be made as he deems appropriate. Such investigation shall provide an opportunity for a public hearing at the request of any party to such review to enable the parties to present information relating to such alleged violation. The parties shall be given written notice of the time and place of the hearing at least five days prior to the hearing. Any such hearing shall be of record and shall be subject to section 554 of title 5. Upon receiving the report of such investigation, the Secretary of Labor shall make findings of fact. If he finds that such violation did occur, he shall issue a decision, incorporating an order therein and his findings, requiring the party committing such violation to take such affirmative action to abate the violation as the Secretary of Labor deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, the rehiring or reinstatement of the employee or representative of employees to his former position with compensation. If he finds that there was no such violation, he shall issue an order denying the application. Such order issued by the Secretary of Labor under this subparagraph shall be subject to judicial review in the same manner as orders and decisions of the Administrator or subject to judicial review under this chapter.

(c)Costs

Whenever an order is issued under this section to abate such violation, at the request of the applicant, a sum equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses (including the attorney’s fees) as determined by the Secretary of Labor, to have been reasonably incurred by the applicant for, or in connection with, the institution and prosecution of such proceedings, shall be assessed against the person committing such violation.

(d)Exception

This section shall have no application to any employee who, acting without direction from his employer (or his agent) deliberately violates any requirement of this chapter.

(e)Employment shifts and loss

The Administrator shall conduct continuing evaluations of potential loss or shifts of employment which may result from the administration or enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and applicable implementation plans, including, where appropriate, investigating threatened plant closures or reductions in employment allegedly resulting from such administration or enforcement. Any employee who is discharged, or laid off, threatened with discharge or layoff, or otherwise discriminated against by any person because of the alleged results of such administration or enforcement, or any representative of such employee, may request the Administrator to conduct a full investigation of the matter. The Administrator shall thereupon investigate the matter and, at the request of any party, shall hold public hearings on not less than five days’ notice, and shall at such hearings require the parties, including the employer involved, to present information relating to the actual or potential effect of such administration or enforcement on employment and on any alleged discharge, layoff, or other discrimination and the detailed reasons or justification therefor. Any such hearing shall be of record and shall be subject to section 554 of title 5. Upon receiving the report of such investigation, the Administrator shall make findings of fact as to the effect of such administration or enforcement on employment and on the alleged discharge, layoff, or discrimination and shall make such recommendations as he deems appropriate. Such report, findings, and recommendations shall be available to the public. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require or authorize the Administrator or any State to modify or withdraw any standard, limitation, or any other requirement of this chapter or any applicable implementation plan.

(f)Occupational safety and health

In order to assist the Secretary of Labor and the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in carrying out their duties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 [29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.], the Administrator shall—

(1)provide the following information, as such information becomes available, to the Secretary and the Director:

(A)the identity of any hazardous waste generation, treatment, storage, disposal facility or site where cleanup is planned or underway;

(B)information identifying the hazards to which persons working at a hazardous waste generation, treatment, storage, disposal facility or site or otherwise handling hazardous waste may be exposed, the nature and extent of the exposure, and methods to protect workers from such hazards; and

(C)incidents of worker injury or harm at a hazardous waste generation, treatment, storage or disposal facility or site; and

(2)notify the Secretary and the Director of the Administrator’s receipt of notifications under section 6930 or reports under section 6922, 6923, and 6924 of this title and make such notifications and reports available to the Secretary and the Director.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, referred to in subsec. (f), is Pub. L. 91–596, Dec. 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 1590, which is classified principally to chapter 15 (§ 651 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 651 of Title 29 and Tables.

Amendments

1980—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 96–482 added subsec. (f).

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

For transfer of certain

Enforcement

functions of Administrator or other official of Environmental Protection Agency under this chapter to Federal Inspector, Office of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, and subsequent transfer to Secretary of Energy, then to Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, see note set out under section 6903 of this title.

§6971 Employee Protection