A federal court ruled an Amsterdam, New York, eye doctor illegally fired an employee who reported a lack of COVID-19 protections to state health officials, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced August 12.
An OSHA whistleblower investigation found that the doctor and his practice retaliated against an employee for filing complaints with the New York State Department of Health. Between March and December 2020, the employee voiced concerns to their supervisor about the lack of COVID-19 safety protocols, including mask-wearing and social distancing, at Kwiat Eye and Laser Surgery PLLC, operated by David Kwiat, MD.
In March 2022, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Solicitor filed a suit against the ophthalmologist.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York agreed that Kwiat and Kwiat Eye and Laser Surgery had retaliated against the employee for protected activity. The court forbade Kwiat and the practice from incurring future violations of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act’s antiretaliation provisions and required them to prominently post a notice for employees stating that the employers won’t discharge or in any way discriminate against any employee for engaging in activities protected by the whistleblower provisions (Section 11(c)) of the OSH Act.
The court will hold a hearing on the DOL’s request that the doctor and practice pay damages to the terminated worker for lost wages and benefits resulting from their unlawful firing; reimburse them for costs, expenses, and other pecuniary losses incurred and compensation for noneconomic losses, including emotional distress; and pay exemplary or punitive damages.
The court ordered Kwiat to pay a contempt fine of $1,250 to the court for discovery violations.
Federal OSHA enforces whistleblower protections under the OSH Act, as well as 24 other statutes regarding airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, food, and motor vehicle safety, as well as environmental, financial reform, healthcare reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, securities, tax, antitrust, and anti-money-laundering laws.
Chicago area contractor facing $268K in new OSHA fines
Dromin Development LLC, a Chicago area carpentry contractor with a long history of exposing employees to potential fall hazards, faces $268,309 in new OSHA fines for two repeat, one willful, one serious, and one other-than-serious violation, the agency announced August 12.
OSHA cited Dromin Development for the seventh time since 2013 for not providing required safety equipment and training to employees building a new home in Frankfort, Illinois.
A March inspection in Frankfort found that Dromin allowed employees to work at heights greater than 6 feet without fall protection and failed to provide training in fall protection and proper forklift operation. The agency also noted that workers failed to wear hard hats and used ladders improperly.
“Each year, hundreds of workers die in preventable falls,” James Martineck, OSHA’s Chicago South area office director, said in an agency statement. “Making sure workers wear fall protection each time they work at heights six feet or greater can be the difference between life or death.”
Last fall, OSHA announced that its construction industry fall protection standard was its most frequently cited standard for the 13th straight year. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, the agency cited 7,271 violations of 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1926.501.