Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials have ordered the Dallas area location of a national childcare provider to reinstate an employee and pay $43,295 in back wages and damages after firing the employee for reporting concerns about unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the facility’s kitchen to Texas health officials, the agency announced August 22.
An OSHA investigation determined that LSP Operations LLC, operating as Little Sunshine Playhouse Operations, retaliated against an employee for engaging in actions protected by the Food Safety Modernization Act. The Southlake location is a subsidiary of the privately owned Little Sunshine’s Enterprises Inc. in Springfield, Missouri.
OSHA’s whistleblower protection authority was established by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 to protect workers who lodge safety or health complaints or who cooperate with agency investigations of workplace safety and health violations. OSHA is now responsible for investigating whistleblower complaints under more than 20 federal statutes.
In August 2023, the Little Sunshine Playhouse Operations employee alerted the company and the Texas Department of Health and Human Services that the facility’s kitchen wasn’t being cleaned overnight, an unsanitary area was used for food preparation, and food was stored at unsafe temperatures. The employee told investigators they suffered severe rashes because of the kitchen’s conditions.
“Our investigation found Little Sunshine Playhouse Operations punished an employee who reported unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the facility’s kitchen out of concerns for the health of infants, young children, and staff,” Eric S. Harbin, OSHA’s Dallas regional administrator, said in an agency statement. “Every employee has the legally protected right to warn others about safety concerns and the right to do so without fear of an employer’s retaliation.”
In addition to ordering Little Sunshine Playhouse to reinstate the worker and pay back wages and damages, OSHA directed the employer to pay $5,500 in attorneys’ fees.
According to OSHA, Little Sunshine’s Enterprises Inc. operates 35 early learning centers for children ages 6 weeks through pre-kindergarten in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.
Reps. query labor secretary about inspection ‘tip-offs’
Two members of Congress—the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Bobby Scott, D-Va., and ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee Alma Adams, D-N.C.,—wrote Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on August 20 regarding concerns about reports that state safety and health officials in California and South Carolina have tipped off employers before surprise workplace inspections.
Questions from Adams and Scott included the following:
- Is the Department of Labor (DOL) aware of credible allegations that one or more officials have provided prohibited advance notice of inspections to an outside party, and how would the DOL address such allegations?
- If officials of a state plan agency routinely provide advance notice of inspections to employers without consequence, would OSHA determine whether the plan complies with the OSH Act?
- What challenges does the DOL face when attempting to monitor and enforce state plans’ compliance with the OSH Act?
- Is it an appropriate use of federal funds for a state plan agency to enable an employer to evade detection for child labor trafficking or child labor violations?