DATE: September 27, 1988
CASE NO. 88-STA-23

IN THE MATTER OF

DWAYNE BINDER,
   COMPLAINANT,

v.

TRUCK TRANSPORT, INC.,
   RESPONDENT.

BEFORE:   THE SECRETARY OF LABOR

   Before me for review is the Recommend order of Dismissal, issued on June 30, 1988, by Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) James W. Kerr, Jr., in the above-captioned case, which arises under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA), 49 U.S.C. app. § 2305 (1982). The ALJ recommended dismissal of this case after reviewing a settlement agreement entered into by the parties and counsel from the Solicitor's office of U.S. Department of Labor.

   Settlement of STAA cases is provided for in 29 C.F.R. § 1978.111(d) (1987), which states, in part, that:

At any time after the filing of a section 405 complaint by an employee and before the findings and/or order become final, the case may be settled if the Assistant Secretary the complainant, and the named person agree to a settlement.

(Underscoring supplied). As Secretary Brock held in Kidd v. Sharron Motor Lines, Inc., Case No. 87-STA-2, Decision and Order on Settlements issued July 30, 1987, neither the ALJ nor the Secretary needs to review a settlement agreement if the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health has signed the agreement or has indicated his specific approval of the terms of the agreement. Here, the agreement was signed by counsel for the Assistant Secretary which is sufficient to satisfy the regulatory requirement for the Assistant Secretary's agreement. See Kidd, slip op. at 3.

Kidd also ruled that the ALJ may issue a final order dismissing a case pursuant to settlement, and that the record and the ALJ's decision do not need to be forwarded to the Secretary for review. Id. Contrary to the Secretary's guidance in Kidd, the ALJ here did not close this case but entered a Recommended Order of Dismissal. Since no further action in this case is necessary, Complainant Binder's complaint is Dismissed with Prejudice.

   SO ORDERED.

         Ann McLaughlin
         Secretary of Labor

Washington, D.C.