(S.Rep. No. 95-848, reprinted in 1978 U.S. Code Cong.
& Admin. News 7303, 7304)
Employee Protection (Section 7)
Summary
Discussion
This provision adds a new section to the Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974. This section offers
protection to employees who believe they have been fired or
discriminated against as a result of the
fact that they have testified, given evidence, or brought suit
under that act or the Atomic Energy 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.
Summary
This amendment is substantially identical to provisions in
the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act. The legislative history of those acts
indicated that such provisions were
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 violate
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act.
Any worker who is called upon to testify or who gives
information with respect to an alleged
violation of the Atomic Energy Act or a related law by his
employer or who files or institutes any
proceeding to enforce such 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
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 cost 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 willfully contributes to a violation of
any standard, requirement, or regulation
under the act.
