OSHA has ordered Georgia-based Interline Logistics Corp. to rehire a whistle-blowing Sauk Village, IL, driver who reported that his truck had brake problems and was ordered by the company to take the rig to the shop in violation of federal hours of service regulations.
According to OSHA investigators, a dispatcher told the driver to take the truck to a repair shop. He refused, stating that doing so would force him to work more hours than Dept. of Transportation regulations allow without an eight-hour rest period. The company fired him for refusing a dispatcher’s order, according to a report in Business Management Daily.
The driver filed a complaint with OSHA, which investigated the claims and ordered Interline Logistics to reinstate the driver and pay him more than $190,000 in back wages, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.
