FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) submitted a Recommended Decision and Order (R.
D.
& O.) in this case arising under the employee protection provisions of the Surface Transportation
Assistance Act of 1982, as amended, 49 U.S.C. § 31105 (West 1996 ) (STAA),
recommending that the complaint be dismissed. Complainant Douglas Frechin alleged that
Yellow Freight System, Inc. assigned him to drive a "straight" truck, after he had
driven a tractor-trailer for a number of years, in retaliation for complaining about a defective
brake
line in one trailer. R. D. & O. at 3. Frechin alleged that driving a straight truck was less desirable
work because it involves making deliveries in downtown Seattle, where driving and parking are
difficult, requires more manual lifting than driving a tractor-trailer, and offers less opportunity
for
overtime. Id. Yellow Freight denied it assigned Frechin a straight truck in retaliation for
engaging in protected activity. Yellow Freight asserts that Frechin was given this assignment
because he regularly had trouble operating the roll-up doors on the trailers, while the straight
truck
had a different type of door which he could operate without difficulty, and because he had made
numerous requests not to work overtime. Id. In addition, Yellow Freight managers
testified they made the decision to reassign Frechin before he made his safety complaint.
The ALJ reviewed the record and found that Yellow Freight reassigned Frechin for
legitimate business reasons. The assignment gave him a truck door that he could operate without
difficulty. Further, Frechin's requests to be off on time and not be assigned overtime was more
easily accommodated by driving a straight truck. The reassignment also dovetailed with the
Seattle terminal's effort to reduce overtime. R. D. & O. at 6. In addition, the ALJ found that
since
the Complainant was satisfied with driving the straight truck for over two months, that
assignment
was not retaliatory. Id. Finally, the ALJ found that Yellow Freight would have assigned
Frechin to a straight truck. even if he had not made a safety complaint, because it made that
decision before he engaged in any protected activity. Id.
The record in this case has been reviewed and we find that it fully supports the ALJ's
recommended decision. See attached. Accordingly, we adopt the recommendation that
the complaint in this case be DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED.
- DAVID A. O'BRIEN
- Chair
- KARL J. SANDSTROM
- Member
[ENDNOTES]