Court Finds Seaman’s Protection Act Requires Tug Captain Fired for Reporting Safety Violations be Re-Hired
Published: February 6, 2017
By: Frederick B. Goldsmith
In Harley Marine Services, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor, 2017 WL 370843 (11th Cir. Jan. 26. 2017), the Court ruled the justification Harley Marine gave for firing tug captain Joseph E. Dady was pretextual, that Harley Marine fired Dady for reporting unsafe activities which violated federal law or regulation, and that Harley knew about Dady’s reports when it fired him. The violations Dady reported related to inadequate crewing, inadequate lookouts, sewage runoff, and steering failure.
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OSHA has a webpage devoted to the Seaman’s Protection Act and how to report violations:
https://www.whistleblowers.gov.