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Home > Electronic Reading Room > Document Collections > News Releases > 1998 > III-98-032


NRC Seal NRC NEWS

U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III

801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532

CONTACT:    Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov
Angela Greenman (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT III-98-32

May 18, 1998

NRC STAFF WITHDRAWS NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND PROPOSED $25,000 FINE

AGAINST MICHIGAN UTILITY IN 1993 EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CASE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has withdrawn a proposed $25,000 fine against American Electric Power Company for alleged employment discrimination by a contractor at the utility's D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Station. The plant is located near Bridgman, Michigan.

A Notice of Violation and the proposed fine were issued in August 1993 as a result of a finding by a Department of Labor (DOL) Administrative Law Judge that the contractor, American Nuclear Resources, Inc., had discriminated against an employee who raised questions about his exposure to radiation during work at the plant.

The contractor subsequently appealed the decision, and a federal appellate court reversed the DOL decision earlier this year. In the light of the court's decision, the NRC staff has withdrawn the notice of violation and proposed fine and closed the enforcement action without further action.

NRC regulations prohibit discrimination against an employee of an NRC licensee and its contractors for raising safety issues, including requesting information about exposure to radiation. Under federal statues, allegations of employment discrimination at nuclear facilities are investigated by the Department of Labor. The NRC bases any resulting enforcement action on the DOL findings.