Shipping Firm Ordered to Pay $707K After Terminating Employment of Whistleblower for Raising Safety Concerns
The shipping giant, Maersk Line Limited, has been ordered to reinstate a seaman who was terminated after alerting the U.S. Coast Guard about safety concerns on board a Maersk container ship, without first notifying his employer and must pay more than $707,000 in back pay and damages.
The man had been working aboard the Safmarine Mafadi, a 958-foot U.S. registered 50,000-ton container ship. In December 2020, he contacted the U.S. Coast Guard and reported several safety concerns, including defective gear for releasing lifeboats; crew members in possession of and potentially consuming alcohol; rusted, corroded, and broken deck sockets that needed replacing or repairing; leaks that were causing flooding in the cargo holds; and that on several occasions, a trainee was left alone and unsupervised on the ship’s watch, including during an incident involving a fuel and oil spill that could potentially have resulted in an environmental spill.
In December 2020, when Maersk learned that the employee had reported the safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard without first informing the company, the employee was suspended and was then terminated in March 2021. The federal Seaman’s Protection Act allows seamen to report safety concerns directly to the US Coast Guard, and they are not required to adhere to company policy and first report their concerns to the company. The Seaman’s Protection Act prohibits retaliation against seaman for engaging in protected activities, which include reporting safety and health concerns.
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces the whistleblower protections of the Seaman’s Protection Act and launched an investigation in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard. OSHA determined that Maersk had violated the employee’s rights by terminating employment and ordered the shipping firm to reinstate the employee and pay $457,759 in back wages, interest, compensatory damages, and $250,000 in punitive damages.
Get The FREE
OSHA & HIPAA Checklist
Immediate Delivery of Checklist Link To Your Email Address
Please Enter Correct Email Address
Your Privacy Respected
HIPAA Journal Privacy Policy
Policies and procedures must also be revised to ensure they do not prohibit seamen from reporting safety concerns without first notifying the company, and those policies and procedures must be distributed to the workforce. Workforce members must also be provided with an OSHA Fact Sheet on the whistleblower protections of the Seaman’s Protection Act and Maersk must ensure future compliance.
“Federal law protects a seaman’s right to report safety concerns to federal regulatory agencies, a fact every maritime industry employer and vessel owner must know,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas. “Failure to recognize these rights can instill a culture of intimidation that could lead to disastrous or deadly consequences. The order underscores our commitment to enforcing whistleblower rights that protect seamen.”
