Byline:
Deborah Whistler, Fleet Owner
OSHA
has ordered Georgia-based Interline Logistics Corp. to rehire a whistle-blowing
Sauk Village, IL, driver who reported that his truck had brake problems and was
ordered by the company to take the rig to the shop in violation of federal
hours of service regulations.
According
to OSHA investigators, a dispatcher told the driver to take the truck to a
repair shop. He refused, stating that doing so would force him to work more
hours than Dept. of Transportation regulations allow without an eight-hour rest
period. The company fired him for refusing a dispatcher’s order, according to a
report in Business Management Daily.
The
driver filed a complaint with OSHA, which investigated the claims and ordered
Interline Logistics to reinstate the driver and pay him more than $190,000 in
back wages, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.
End.
