(S. Rep. No. 92-414, reprinted in 1972 U.S. Code
Cong. & Admin. News
3668,3748-49)
Section 507--Employee Protection
This section offers protection to employees who believe
they have been fired or
discriminated against as a result of the fact that they may have
testified or brought suit under
this Act. The employee may apply to the Secretary of Labor for
review of his case. The
Secretary of Labor can issue an order for the employee to be
rehired, or otherwise
compensated, if the employee's case is justified. The section
does not apply to an employee
who acts outside the direction of his employer.
Section 507 of the bill is patterned after the National
Labor Management Act and a similar
provision in Public Law 91-173 relating to the health and safety
of the Nation's coal miners. Under this
section employees and union officials could help assure that
employers do not contribute to the
degradation of our environment.
Any worker who is called upon to testify or who gives
information with respect to an alleged
violation of a pollution control law by his employer or who files
or institutes any proceeding to enforce a
pollution control law against an employer may be subject to
discrimination.
The section would prohibit any firing or discrimination and
would provide an administrative
procedure under which the employee or his representative could
seek redress for any violation of this
prohibition. The Secretary of Labor would investigate such
charges and issue findings and a decision
which would be subject to judicial review. If the Secretary of
Labor would investigate such charges
and issue findings and a decision which would be subject to
judicial review. If the Secretary should
find a violation, he would issue orders to abate it, including
where appropriate, the rehiring of the
employee to his former position with back pay. Also, the person
committing the violation could be
assessed the costs incurred by the employee to obtain redress.
This provision would safeguard the rights of employees, but
it should not encourage employees to
frivolously allege violations since the employee would have to
pay the costs of the proceedings unless
the violation is proved.
In order to avoid abuse of the protection afforded under
this Section the Committee has added a
provision which would deny its applicability to any Employee who,
without direction from his employer,
deliberately violates or wilfully contributed to a violation of
any standard, requirement or
regulation under the Act.
