ARB CASE NO. 03-050 ALJ CASE NO. 2001-STA-20 DATE: April 30, 2004
In the Matter of:
RRL PHILLIPS,
COMPLAINANT,
v.
CASCADE COLUMBIA
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY,
RESPONDENT.
BEFORE: THE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD
Appearances:
For the Complainant:
RRL Phillips, pro se, Hillsborough, Oregon
For the Respondent:
Karen M. Vickers, Esq., Bullivant, Houser & Baily, PC, Portland, Oregon
FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
This case arises under the employee protection provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA), as amended and recodified, 49 U.S.C.A. § 31105 (West 1997), and the implementing regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 1978 (2003). On September 18, 2002, RRL Phillips filed a complaint with the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleging that Cascade Columbia Distribution Company (CCDC) terminated his employment for making complaints protected by the STAA.
Following an investigation, OSHA dismissed the complaint as lacking merit. Phillips requested a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), which the ALJ held on May 6 and 7, 2002. Following that hearing, the ALJ issued a Recommended Decision and Order (R. D. & O.) concluding that CCDC terminated Phillips's employment because of Phillips's insubordinate conduct, and that his complaints relating to violations of commercial motor vehicle safety requirements did not contribute to CCDC's action. R. D. & O. at 8-9. Accordingly, the ALJ recommended denial of the complaint. We affirm the ALJ's ruling.
In 1997, CCDC hired Phillips as a full time truck driver. During his employment with CCDC, Phillips complained to the company's supervisory personnel about mechanical defects in CCDC's vehicles, cargo violations (including overweight loads and improper packaging of flammable materials), a meeting he believed was an illegal safety meeting, and scheduling decisions that he believed violated United States Department of Transportation regulations. Hearing Transcript (Tr.) at 42, 79, 102-06, 110, 115, 121-22.2
1 The ALJ's decision contains a detailed summary of the testimony adduced at the hearing. R. D. & O. at 2-7.
2 On July 19, 2000, Phillips complained to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries that CCDC was discriminating against him because of his safety complaints and a civil rights issue. Tr. at 120. There is no evidence that CCDC was aware of this complaint prior to Phillips's firing. Price, the company official who fired Phillips, testified that he was unaware of this complaint until May 6, 2002, and that he had no reason to believe that the company's owners who made the termination decision might have known about this complaint. Tr. at 188. Phillips testified that he had no independent knowledge that anyone at CCDC was aware of this complaint at any time during his employment at CCDC. Tr. at 140-41.
3 "A person may not discharge an employee, or discipline or discriminate against an employee regarding pay, terms, or privileges of employment, because ... the employee, or another person at the employee's request, has filed a complaint or begun a proceeding related to a violation of a commercial motor vehicle safety regulation, standard, or order, or has testified or will testify in such a proceeding . . .."