READING – A Hamburg company is alleged to have retaliated against an employee for filing a safety complaint.
R. Alexander Acosta, secretary of labor for the United States Department of Labor, filed a complaint on Sept. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Fairmount Foundry Inc. citing the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
According to the complaint, Zachary Zettlemoyer was employed by the defendant at various times from December 2006 to October 2016. The suit states that beginning in July 2015, Zettlemoyer repeatedly complained to the defendant about a roof leak that he believed was a safety hazard because it leaked directly onto an electrical box and created a slipping hazard.
The plaintiff alleges that after the defendant took no action, Zettlemoyer made an anonymous safety complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in September 2015, which conducted an unannounced inspection in October 2015. Zettlemoyer was discharged six days later, the suit states, and he filed a whistle-blower complaint.
The plaintiff seeks to enjoin the defendant, reinstatement of Zettlemoyer; payment to Zettlemoyer for lost wages and benefits, interest, compensatory damages and consequential damages; court costs; and any further relief the court grants. He is represented by Acting Solicitor of Labor Nicholas C. Geale, Regional Solicitor Oscar L. Hampton III and trial attorney Jennifer L. Bluer.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 5:17-cv-04302-LS