Region 5 News Release: 12-2134-CHI
Nov. 7, 2012
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov
Nov. 7, 2012
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov
Northern Illinois Flight Center ordered by US Labor Department's
OSHA to reinstate, pay more than $500,000 to illegally terminated pilot Whistleblower investigation found violations of the federal
Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century
OSHA to reinstate, pay more than $500,000 to illegally terminated pilot Whistleblower investigation found violations of the federal
Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century
CHICAGO – An investigation by the
U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
found that Northern Illinois Flight Center violated the whistleblower
protection provisions of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and
Reform Act for the 21st Century, known as AIR21, by illegally
terminating an employee. The whistleblower, a pilot from Illinois, was
dismissed after contacting the Federal Aviation Administration to
discuss violations of the pilot certification process. As a result, OSHA
has ordered the company to immediately reinstate the employee and pay
more than $500,000 in back wages, benefits and damages.
"Firing pilots for reporting inaccurate procedures to the FAA endangers other pilots, their passengers and the public at large," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "The Labor Department has a responsibility to protect all employees, including those in the aviation industry, from retaliation for raising safety concerns and exercising these basic worker rights."
The pilot alleges that he was asked to falsify an FAA Form 61.55 pilot certification for a training flight he performed with another pilot. He maintained that all required elements were not completed during the training flight conducted Feb. 16, 2009, so he could not certify the form. He also alleges that, on March 23, Northern Illinois Flight Center supervisors attempted to coerce him into signing a backdated and incorrect form. During a subsequent conversation, the pilot informed his supervisors that he wanted to contact the FAA directly to get clarification on the issue, and between March 25 and 27, the pilot contacted the FAA Flight Standards District. The pilot was terminated April 7, with no reason stated. The investigation, conducted by OSHA's Chicago office, upheld the pilot's allegations and found that he would not have been terminated if he had not requested to meet with the FAA for the purpose of discussing the pilot certification process and forms.
Northern Illinois Flight Center is based in Lake in the Hills and employs pilots to fly aircraft for the transportation of passengers and property.
OSHA conducted the investigation under the whistleblower provisions of AIR21, which protects employees who report alleged violations of any order, regulation, or standard of the FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety under this subtitle or any other law of the United States, or who engage in other protected activities.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the AIR21 and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various railroad, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Any party to this case can file an appeal with the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges within 30 days of receipt of the findings.
Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights, including fact sheets, is available at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Editor's note: The U.S. Department of Labor does not release the names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.
LAKE IN THE HILLS – A
pilot fired more than three years ago will be reinstated and paid more
than $500,000 after investigators determined he was illegally terminated
from the Lake in the Hills-based Northern Illinois Flight Center,
according to the U.S. Labor Department."Firing pilots for reporting inaccurate procedures to the FAA endangers other pilots, their passengers and the public at large," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "The Labor Department has a responsibility to protect all employees, including those in the aviation industry, from retaliation for raising safety concerns and exercising these basic worker rights."
The pilot alleges that he was asked to falsify an FAA Form 61.55 pilot certification for a training flight he performed with another pilot. He maintained that all required elements were not completed during the training flight conducted Feb. 16, 2009, so he could not certify the form. He also alleges that, on March 23, Northern Illinois Flight Center supervisors attempted to coerce him into signing a backdated and incorrect form. During a subsequent conversation, the pilot informed his supervisors that he wanted to contact the FAA directly to get clarification on the issue, and between March 25 and 27, the pilot contacted the FAA Flight Standards District. The pilot was terminated April 7, with no reason stated. The investigation, conducted by OSHA's Chicago office, upheld the pilot's allegations and found that he would not have been terminated if he had not requested to meet with the FAA for the purpose of discussing the pilot certification process and forms.
Northern Illinois Flight Center is based in Lake in the Hills and employs pilots to fly aircraft for the transportation of passengers and property.
OSHA conducted the investigation under the whistleblower provisions of AIR21, which protects employees who report alleged violations of any order, regulation, or standard of the FAA or any other provision of federal law relating to air carrier safety under this subtitle or any other law of the United States, or who engage in other protected activities.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the AIR21 and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various railroad, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Any party to this case can file an appeal with the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges within 30 days of receipt of the findings.
Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program. Detailed information on employee whistleblower rights, including fact sheets, is available at http://www.whistleblowers.gov.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Editor's note: The U.S. Department of Labor does not release the names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that officials at the flight center broke the law in spring 2009 when they dismissed an Illinois pilot because he contacted the Federal Aviation Administration to discuss violations of the pilot certification process, according to a news release.
The violations revolve around whistle-blower protection provisions in the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, the news release said.
OSHA has ordered the company to immediately reinstate the employee and pay more than $500,000 in back wages, benefits and damages.
The employee alleged that he was asked to falsify a pilot certification form for a training flight he performed with another pilot in February 2009, according to the Labor Department.
He also stated that in March 2009, supervisors tried to sway him into signing a back-dated and incorrect form.
The pilot informed his supervisors that he was going to contact the FAA Flight Standards District, the news release said.
He contacted the FAA in late March and was terminated in April, with no reason given.
Howard Seedorf, the president and CEO of Northern Illinois Flight Center, said the company plans to appeal the decision. Seedorf said he has been in business for 30 years and such a thing has never happened. He said that the safety allegations were from a disgruntled employee and called the claims “totally incorrect.”
Seedorf would not comment further because of the pending appeal.
The investigation by OSHA’s Chicago office concluded that employee would not have been terminated had he not requested to meet with the FAA about the pilot certification process and forms.
The labor department does not release the names of employees involved in whistle-blower complaints.
An appeal can be filed within 30 days.
http://www.nwherald.com
A Lake in the Hills aircraft management company was found by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to have illegally terminated an employee in 2009, and was ordered by to reinstate him and pay him back more than $500,000.
An OSHA investigation found that Northern Illinois Flight Center, also known as N-Jet, violated the whistle-blower protection provisions of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, known as AIR21, when it dismissed the whistle-blower, a pilot from Illinois, after he contacting the Federal Aviation Administration to discuss violations of the pilot certification process, according to a news release from OSHA’s Chicago office.
Howard Seedorf, president and CEO of Northern Illinois Flight Center, also known as N-Jet, said the company plans to appeal the “completely erroneous” finding. “It’s a classic disgruntled employee situation. We’ll see where it goes,” he said, declining to say more.
The pilot alleged that he was asked to falsify an FAA pilot certification form after the required elements were not completed during a training flight in February 2009, OSHA said. The pilot said his supervisors attempted to coerce him into signing a backdated and incorrect form in March 2009. Later, the pilot informed his supervisors that he wanted to contact the FAA to get clarification on the issue, and did so in late March 2009. The pilot was terminated April 7, 2009.
Northern Illinois Flight Center was founded in 1979 and moved to Lake in the Hills in the late 1980s, Seedorf said. The company has about 70 employees and provides comprehensive aircraft services including maintenance, storage, fuel service, flight crews and more.
OSHA Chicago office spokeswoman Rhonda Burke said she didn’t know if the FAA investigated the pilot’s claims. “He made an appointment to go meet with the FAA, and he was dismissed prior to the date of that meeting,” she said. “He was dismissed without cause given.”
The FAA Great Lakes Region office did not return requests for comment Wednesday.
http://www.dailyherald.com
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