IN THE MATTER OF 

GEORGE M. GILLILAN,                         CASE NOS. 89-ERA-40;
                                            91-ERA-31;
                                            94-ERA-5;  95-ERA-9;
          COMPLAINANT,                      95-ERA-26; 95-ERA-32
          
     v.                            DATE: May 30, 1996

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY,

          RESPONDENT.


BEFORE:   THE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW BOARD[1] 


                     FINAL ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT
                         AND DISMISSING COMPLAINT

     This case arises under the employee protection provision of
the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA), as amended, 42
U.S.C. § 5851 (1988 and Supp. IV 1992).  The parties
submitted a Memorandum of Understanding and Settlement Agreement
seeking approval of the settlement and dismissal of the captioned
complaints.  The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued a decision
on April 18, 1996, recommending that the settlement be approved. 

     The request for approval is based on an agreement entered
into by the parties, therefore, we must review it to determine
whether the terms are a fair, adequate and reasonable settlement
of the complaints.  42 U.S.C. § 5851(b)(2)(A) (1988). 
Macktal v. Secretary of Labor, 923 F.2d 1150, 1153-54 (5th
Cir. 1991); Thompson v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, 885 F.2d 551,
556 (9th Cir. 1989); Fuchko and Yunker v. Georgia Power
Co., Case Nos. 89-ERA-9, 89-ERA-10, Sec. Order, Mar. 23,
1989, slip op. at 1-2. 
     The agreement appears to encompass the settlement of matters
arising under various laws, only one of which is the ERA.  See
 ¶¶ 1 and 4.  For the reasons set forth in
Poulos v. Ambassador Fuel Oil Co., Inc., Case No.
86-CAA-1, Sec. Order, Nov. 2, 1987, slip op. at 2, we have
limited our review of the agreement to determining whether its
terms are a fair, adequate and reasonable 
[PAGE 2]
settlement of the Complainant's allegations that Respondent
violated the ERA.
     Paragraph 7 provides that the Complainant is not 
prohibited from reporting any suspected nuclear safety concern 
to the proper governmental authority, or from participating in
any proceeding or investigation pertaining thereto, or in
restricting any disclosure by him where required by law.         
Paragraph 8 provides that the Complainant and his attorney shall
keep the terms of the Agreement confidential for a period 
of up to one year after the effective date of the agreement, and 
further provides that Complainant and his counsel agree to timely
notify the Respondent's legal counsel in the event they receive 
legal process or an order purporting to require disclosure of the
agreement.  We do not find this notification requirement 
violative of public policy, since it does not restrict or impinge
upon the Complainant or his counsel from such disclosure after
appropriate legal process.  McGlynn v. Pulsair Inc., Case
No. 93-CAA-2, Sec. Final Order Approving Settlement, June 28,
1993, slip op. at 3.  
     The parties' submissions including the agreement become part
of the record of the case and are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552 (1988).  FOIA
requires Federal agencies to disclose requested records unless
they are exempt from disclosure under the Act.[2]   See Debose
v. Carolina Power & Light Co., Case No. 92-ERA-14, Order
Disapproving Settlement and Remanding Case, Feb. 7, 1994, slip
op. at 2-3 and cases there cited. 
     We find that the agreement, as here construed, is a fair,
adequate and reasonable settlement of the complaint. 
Accordingly, we APPROVE the agreement and DISMISS THE COMPLAINT
WITH PREJUDICE. See ¶ 6. 
     SO ORDERED.




                              

[PAGE 3]
                              __________________________
                              KARL J. SANDSTROM
                              Presiding Member




                              ____________________________
                              JOYCE D. MILLER
                              Alternate Member
 



[ENDNOTES]
           
[1] 
 This matter was filed before the Secretary of Labor pursuant to
the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 and 29 C.F.R. Part 24.  The
Secretary issued an interim decision in this case on 
April 12, 1994.  On April 17, 1996, a Secretary's Order was
signed delegating jurisdiction to issue final agency decisions
under this statute to the newly created Administrative Review
Board.  61 Fed. Reg. 19978 (May 3, 1996)(copy attached).
     Secretary's Order 2-96 contains a comprehensive list of the
statutes, executive order, and regulations under which the
Administrative Review Board now issues final agency decisions.  A
copy of the final procedural revisions to the regulations (61
Fed. Reg. 19982), implementing this reorganization is also
attached.

[2] 
  Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 70.26(b), submitters may designate
specific information as confidential commercial information to be
handled as provided in the regulations.  When FOIA requests are
received for such information, the Department of Labor will
notify the submitter promptly, 29 C.F.R. § 70.26(c); the
submitter will be given a reasonable amount of time to state its
objections to disclosure, 29 C.F.R. § 70.26(e); and the
submitter will be notified if a decision is made to disclose the
information, 29 C.F.R. § 70.26(f).  If the information is
withheld and a suit is filed by the requester to compel
disclosure, the submitter will be notified, 29 C.F.R.
§70.26(h).