DATE: December 11, 1995
CASE NO.   95-ERA-20
           


IN THE MATTER OF

ROBERT O. KLOCK

          COMPLAINANT,

     v.

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY and
UNITED ENERGY SERVICES CORP.,  

          RESPONDENTS.


BEFORE:  THE SECRETARY OF LABOR


                             PRELIMINARY ORDER

     On September 29, 1995, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
issued a Recommended Decision and Order (R. D. and O.) in this
case arising under the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA),
42 U.S.C. §5851 (Supp. IV 1992), as amended by the
Comprehensive National Energy Policy Act of 1992 (CNEPA), Pub. L.
No. 102-486, 106 Stat. 2776, 3123.  A final decision on the
merits of the R. D. and O. must await a Secretarial decision on
the substance of this case, which will be issued in due course.   
 
     In 1992 the whistleblower provision of the ERA was amended
in several respects by Section 2902 of the CNEPA.  The amended
provision is applicable to this case, which was filed subsequent
to the effective date of the CNEPA.  It provides in pertinent
part:
     Upon the conclusion of [a public hearing before an ALJ]
     and the issuance of a recommended decision that the
     complaint has merit, the Secretary shall issue a
     preliminary order providing the relief prescribed in
     subparagraph (B), but may not order compensatory
     damages pending a final order.

* * * * 
                                    
                                    
                              
[PAGE 2]
       (B) If, in response to a complaint filed under
     paragraph (1), the Secretary determines that a
     violation of subsection (a) of this section has
     occurred, the Secretary shall order the person who
     committed such violation to (i) take affirmative action
     to abate the violation, and (ii) reinstate the
     complainant to his former position together with the
     compensation (including back pay), terms, conditions,
     and privileges of his employment, and the Secretary may
     order such person to provide compensatory damages to
     the complainant.  If an order is issued under this
     paragraph, the Secretary, at the request of the
     complainant shall assess against the person against
     whom the order is issued a sum equal to the aggregate
     amount of all costs and expenses (including attorneys'
     and expert witness fees) reasonably incurred, as
     determined by the Secretary, by the complainant for, or
     in connection with, the bringing of the complaint upon
     which the order was issued.

42 U.S.C. § 5851(b)(2)(A) & (B) (1988 and Supp. V).[1]   
     The plain meaning of Section 5851(b)(2)(A) & (B) requires a
preliminary order enforcing the R. D. and O. provisions against
Respondent Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) regarding
reinstatement, backpay, interest and costs.  Therefore, all
relief recommended to be awarded by an ALJ, except compensatory
damages, shall be provided pursuant to a preliminary order. 
See C. D. Varnadore. Oak Ridge National Laboratory and
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc., Case Nos. 94-CAA-2, 94-
CAA-3, Preliminary Order, September 11, 1995, slip op. at 5.   
     The ALJ has not yet issued a Supplemental Recommended
Decision and Order (S. R. D. and O.) concerning the payment of
costs and expenses, including attorney fees.  Once a S. R. D. and
O. is issued I will supplement this preliminary order.    
        Therefore TVA is preliminarily ordered to:
     1)  Reinstate Complainant either as a contract employee or
its own employee for, at a minimum, so long as TVA continues to
employ contract workers at Watts Bar; and 
     2)  Pay Complainant back pay in the amount of $99,390.41
with interest from the date the payments were due as wages until
the actual date of payment, in accordance with 26 U.S.C. §
6221.  
    
        SO ORDERED

                              ROBERT B. REICH
                              Secretary of Labor
 


[ENDNOTES]
           
[1] 
  Subparagraph B was not amended by the CNEPA.  On March 16,
1994, the Secretary of Labor proposed regulations to
implement the CNEPA amendments to the ERA.  59 Fed. Reg. 12506. 
These regulations have not yet been finalized.