OSHA Claims: Lawyers Serving Tampa Bay and Other Areas
Feldman Morgado litigates State and Federal Whistleblower claims across the State of Florida in both State and Federal Court. We are Whistleblower Act attorneys who handle cases throughout the areas of Tampa, Ocala, Naples, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Gainesville, Clearwater, Lakeland, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Bradenton and Ft. Myers.
Many federal statutes have Whistleblower provisions under which an employee is protected against retaliatory conduct by an Employer for reported unlawful conduct of the employer or for cooperating with state or federal agencies investigating unlawful conduct of the Employer.
Question:
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS AS A WHISTLEBLOWER?
An employee may file a complaint with OSHA ( www.osha.gov) if an employer retaliates against the employee who engages in protected activity relating to:
- workplace safety and health,
- commercial motor carrier safety,
- pipeline safety,
- air carrier safety,
- nuclear safety,
- the environment,
- asbestos in schools,
- corporate fraud,
- SEC rules of regulations,
- railroad carrier safety or security,
- Public transportation agency safety or security.
If you feel that you have suffered retaliation by an Employer in the form of an unfavorable personnel actions such as demotion, loss of earnings, harassment or termination for cooperating with investigating agencies or for reporting unlawful conduct to a state or federal agency you should file a claim with OSHA.
www.osha.gov.
Employees should file complaints with OSHA within 30 days of the unfavorable personnel action or within 30 days of discovery of the discriminatory or retaliatory conduct. In some cases depending on the Federal Act involved, the employee may be required to file in writing or the deadline to file may be greater than 30 days, up to 180 days in some instances.
Unfavorable personnel actions include:
- blacklisting
- demoting
- denying overtime or promotion
- disciplining
- denying benefits
- failing to hire or rehire
- intimidation
- reassignment affecting promotion prospects
- reducing pay or hours
Protections against being forced to perform certain dangerous or hazardous work or unlawful conduct.
An employee may have the right under the OSH Act to refuse to perform work when the employee believes that he or she faces death or serious injury and the situation is so clearly hazardous than any reasonable person would believe the same thing; and 2) you have tried to get your employer to correct the condition and there is no other way to do the job safely, and 3) the situation is so urgent that you do not have time to eliminate the hazard through regulatory channels such as calling OSHA.
Several laws protect employees who report violations of environment laws related to drinking water and water pollution, toxic substances, solid waste disposal, air quality and air pollution, asbestos in schools, and hazardous waste disposal sites. The Energy Reorganization Act protects employees who raise safety concerns in the nuclear power industry and in nuclear medicine.
If you feel you are in such a dangerous situation, contact OSHA. If you are terminated for refusing to perform such unlawful or dangerous condition, contact the law firm of Feldman Morgado to discuss this legal matter and find out your rights. At Feldman Morgado we specialize in Whistleblower claims across the State of Florida from our 4 offices in Tampa, Ocala, Miami and Naples. We handle cases in both State and Federal Court. Our attorneys are prepared to take your case to trial and not just look for a quick dollar.
We are different, dedicated and determined to obtain the best possible result or financial resolution for any victim of a retaliatory personnel action or adverse employment action as a result of an employee refusing to go along with unlawful conduct or who cooperates in any state or federal agency investigation. We are here to protect your rights and secure the compensation you are entitled to under the law.
Contact us for a free consultation via email or by telephone. In most cases, we never charge our client a fee in a whistleblower claim and only are paid a fee from the offending party against whom we assert a claim.
Corporate fraud is well covered in the media in the last decade and there is a backlash and crackdown over large corporations engaged in frivolous conduct such as bank fraud, SEC violations, accounting fraud. Employees who work for publicly traded companies which are required to file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission are protected from retaliation for reporting what the employee perceives to be unlawful conduct, such as mail, wire or bank fraud, violations of rules or regulations of the SEC, or federal laws relation to fraud against shareholders.
In a recent case in 2010, the US Department of Labor ordered reinstatement of a whistleblower employee of Tennessee Commerce Bank and more than one million dollars $1,000,000.00 in back wages and other relief.
Under Florida's Whistleblower Act, private sector employees are protected against any adverse employment action such as:
- Firing or laying off
- Blacklisting
- Demoting
- Denying overtime or promotion
- Disciplining
- Denial of benefits
- Failure to hire or rehire
- Intimidation
- Reassignment affecting prospects for promotion
- Reducing pay or hours.
Contact us vial email through this website or call us to discuss your Whistleblower Claim and your rights and remedies. We will fight for your rights and seek to obtain the compensation you are entitled to under the law, including: compensatory damages such as pain and suffering, mental anguish and humiliation, back pay or past wages, front pay or future wages and possibly punitive damages. Additionally, Florida's Whistleblower Act provides for recovery of attorney's fees and court costs against the offending employer. Contact attorneys Mitchell L. Feldman or Dale Morgado to arrange a free consultation.
