DATE: January 12, 1994
CASE NO. 91-ERA-27
IN THE MATTER OF
JOHN J. DELCORE
COMPLAINANT,
v.
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
ELECTRICAL WORKERS, LOCAL 90
RESPONDENT.
BEFORE: THE SECRETARY OF LABOR
FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
On March 26, 1991 the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
submitted a Recommended Order of Dismissal (R. O. D.) in this
case arising under the employee protection provision of the
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended (ERA), 42 U.S.C.
§ 5851 (1988), recommending that the complaint be dismissed
because Complainant "has not shown that his complaint is against
an employer covered by the ERA Act or that the incident
complained about concerned protected whistleblower activities."
In response to a briefing schedule issued by this office,
Complainant, prose, submitted a nine page Brief in
Opposition to Recommended Order of Dismissal. Respondent has not
filed a brief. The record in this case has been reviewed and I
agree with and adopt the ALJ's recommended order.
One additional matter should be noted for the record,
however. During the proceedings before the ALJ, Respondent wrote
a letter to the ALJ complaining, among other things, that
Complainant's response to the ALJ's Order to Show Cause must have
been written by a lawyer and that by failing to reveal his
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identity that unknown lawyer had violated the "Canons of Ethics."
Respondent requested that Complainant be directed to disclose the
identity of this lawyer.
This background prompted further investigation which
revealed that Complainant's brief to the Secretary is virtually
100% plagiarized from a Professional Education Systems, Inc.
publication "The Whistleblower Litigation Handbook:
Environmental, Health and Safety Claims," by Stephen M. Kohn,
PESI Legal Publishing, Eau Claire, WI, 1990.
Accordingly, the complaint in this case is DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED.
ROBERT B. REICH
Secretary of Labor
Washington, D.C.