Dept. of Labor – OSHA Issues Hefty Award to Seaman for Employer’s Violation of Seaman’s Protection Act.
The Seaman’s Protection Act (SPA)[1] prohibits discharge or discrimination against a seaman by an employer for, among other things, reporting a potential violation of a marine safety law or regulation in good faith. OSHA is charged with investigations of potential violations of the SPA. After its investigation, Bouchard Transportation of New York was found to have retaliated against a seaman for cooperating with the Coast Guard’s investigation of the explosion of one of the employer’s barges in Port Aransas, Texas in 2017, which resulted in the death of two seamen.
OSHA has preliminarily ordered the employer to pay:
- Back pay with interest plus compensatory damages for losses to his 401(k);
- An additional two years of lost wages in lieu of reinstatement;
- No less than $50,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of reputation, and mental anguish resulting from Bouchard’s adverse employment action; and
- No less than $200,000 in punitive damages for Bouchard Transportation Company Inc., B. No. 272 Corp, Morton S. Bouchard, III, Brendan Bouchard, and Kevin Donohue’s reckless disregard for the law and callous indifference for seamen’s rights under the SPA and egregious conduct.
Additional information may be found at this hyperlink: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region2/12182019
[1] 46 USCS § 2114 (2018).
