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In the Matter of :
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EDWARD L. GREEN : Date: November 29, 1994
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Complainant : Case No. 94-STA-47
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v. :
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CURTIS EXPO & STORAGE :
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Respondent :
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RECOMMENDED DECISION AND ORDER
This action arises under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of
1982 (the "STAA"), 49 U.S.C. § 2305, and the regulations found
at 29 C.F.R. Part 1978. On September 28, 1994, an Order to Show
Cause ("Order") was issued by the undersigned administrative law
judge, instructing the Complainant to show cause in writing, on or
before October 16, 1994, why the instant appeal should not be
dismissed as untimely. The Order was served on the Complainant
by certified mail, and a certified mail receipt bearing the
Complainant's signature was subsequently received by this office.
The time alloted for response to my Order having expired without
any response having been filed by the Complainant, I hereby issue
this Recommended Decision and Order.
The pertinent background is as follows. The Complainant,
Edward L. Green, filed a complaint on July 18, 1993 with the
Department of Labor, alleging discrimination by the Respondent,
Curtis Expo & Storage, in violation of the STAA. On April 14,
1994, the Secretary of Labor, through his duly authorized agent,
the Regional Administrator for the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), found the complaint to be meritless, and
issued his finding that the complaint should be dismissed.
A copy of the findings was provided to the Complainant. The
findings were accompanied by a cover letter, under even date, which
informed the Complainant that his complaint was being dismissed.
The letter notified the Complainant that he had thirty (30) days in
which to file objections to the findings, after which time the
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dismissal would become final, and not subject to judicial review.
It further provided the Complainant with the names and addresses of
the parties with whom any such objections were to be filed.
The Complainant took no further action on his complaint until
July 20, 1994, at which time he wrote to the Regional Administrator
of OSHA, objecting to the manner in which the investigation of his
complaint was conducted. The letter was postmarked July 28, 1994,
and was received in the Regional Administrator's office on August
1, 1994. The Regional Administrator treated the Complainant's
letter as a request for a hearing, and forwarded the complaint to
this office.
As explained to the Complainant in the Regional
Administrator's April 14, 1994 letter, the STAA provides for thirty
days in which to file objections to the findings of the Regional
Administrator. 49 U.S.C.A. § 2305(c)(2)(A) (Supp. 1994). The
STAA's implementing regulations further provide:
Within thirty days of receipt of the findings or prelimi-
nary order the named person or the complainant, or both,
may file objections . . . and request a hearing on the
record.
. . . .
If no timely objection is filed with respect to
either the findings or the preliminary order, such
findings or preliminary order, as the case may be, shall
become final and not subject to review.
29 C.F.R. § 1978.105. As the Complainant failed to file
objections or request a hearing within the thirty day period
following his receipt of the Regional Administrator's findings,
those findings have become final, and are not subject to further
review. This being the case, the instant appeal must be dismissed
as untimely.
WHEREFORE, IT IS RECOMMENDED that the complaint of
Edward L. Green be DISMISSED.
DANIEL J. ROKETENETZ
Administrative Law Judge
