Staff reports

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. to stop retaliating against truck drivers who refuse to drive when they feel too ill or fatigued.

The order comes after the Auburn-based company suspended a 25-year commercial truck operator without pay at its Portland terminal because he did not feel well enough to drive, according to OSHA. The driver filed a whistleblower complaint, citing violation of safe operating rules under the Surface Transportation Safety Act.

After its investigation, OSHA ordered the trucking company to pay $20,000 in punitive damages and $354 to the driver for his suspension. This is the second time the agency has found Oak Harbor retaliated against a truck driver who invoked federal safety rules.

But Oak Harbor Freight Lines said the suspended driver did not file a complaint. The company issued the following reply to the case:

“Oak Harbor Freight Lines holds the safety of our employees and the motoring public as a first priority. Since this claim was brought in February 2014, we have clarified the applicability of our attendance policy in light of the changed federal guidelines to help eliminate unmerited claims. The driver involved in this case did not file a complaint, OSHA filed the case on his behalf. Oak Harbor had to bring suit against OSHA to motivate OSHA to follow their own procedures, produce evidence and move the unsubstantiated claims in the Portland area forward.”

The company also noted it has more than 850 drivers who fall under the Surface Transportation Safety Act, and three recent claims are the only ones that have blemished its 100-year history.

The company added: “Oak Harbor Freight Lines is very proud of each and every one of our over 1,500 employees, who every day bring peace of mind to our customers by delivering over 100,000 shipments a month while faithfully obeying each of the thousands of laws that cover the trucking industry.”