Interesting Whistleblower Case in Minnesota
Two former Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) inspectors, Terry Swanson and Douglas Crosby, testified before the Minnesota Senate that the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry engaged in a number of fraudulent activities since 2006. Swanson and Crosby reported that changes were made to final OSHA inspection reports even after the OSHA inspector signed the report and that documents have been removed from inspection files. They also testified that inspectors have been pressured to not find violations against MNSTAR companies or issue citations to them. MNSTAR companies are companies that MNOSHA recognizes for having labor/management safety committees that go beyond MNOSHA compliance standards.
Minnesota Senator David Tomassoni stated that both former inspectors had similar allegations and received similar treatment when they came forward. Swanson and Crosby were transferred out of their inspection assignments, relocated to other parts of the state and were eventually forced to quit their jobs last year after filing whistleblower lawsuits in the previous year.
Fortunately, there has recently been some good news in the case. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned a District Court ruling that dismissed Terry Swanson’s case. The Appeals Court will hear Doug Crosby’s case on March 23rd. Hopefully, it will have an equally positive outcome.
The other positive development in the case is that following Swanson and Crosby’s testimony the Minnesota Senate has been pushing OSHA for answers. Senator Tomassoni, Chair of the Economic Development and Housing Budget Division Committee sent a letter to Michael Connors, Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA for clarification on the testimony.
As acknowledged by Senator Tomassoni, the issues raised by Swanson and Crosby are extremely serious and jeopardize the health and safety of all workers in Minnesota. Their allegations should be fully investigated and promptly corrected.
"Lawsuit claims state Dept. of Labor destroyed files" KSTP TV, March 13, 2009
Audio from Minnesota Senate Testimony on Wednesday Feb. 25th (Economic Development and Housing Budget Division Committee)
"Whistleblowing Former Inspectors testify that MNOSHA alters reports, citations" Labor World, March 4, 2009
"Appeals court supports whistleblower, Sen. Tomassoni asks for feds help" Labor World, March 18, 2009
