The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Whistleblower Protection Program enforces 25 whistleblower statutes that protect employees from retaliation for reporting violations of workplace safety and a range of other regulatory requirements. Earlier this month, OSHA announced assessment of over $300,000 in damages against a railroad employer accused of terminating an employee who triggered a safety stand down due to lightning and severe weather conditions in the area. OSHA alleged that the employer retaliated against the employee based on his refusal to work during the weather incident.

OSHA referenced its own safety standards in addition to those issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the basis for concluding that the employee had the right to refuse to work during the storm. Although it seems self-evident, employers should immediately discontinue work and take steps to protect employees subject to potentially severe weather events. Failure to take these measures can result in both OSHA citations as well as retaliation claims from employees disciplined as a result of refusing to continue working in the face of such hazardous conditions.

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