Memonmdum ofUnderstanding Between the 


Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department oflabor 


1. PURPOSE 


The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of labor (DOL) enter into this 

agreement to facilitate coordination and cooperation concerning the employee protection provisions of 

Section 211 ofthe Energy Reorganization Act ofl974 (ERA), as amended, 42 U.S.c. 5851. 

2. 	 BACKGROUND 

Section 211 of the ERA prolubits any employer, including a Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensee, 

license applicant or a contractor or subcontractor ofa Commission licensee or applicant, from discriminating 

against any employee with respect to his or her compensation, tenns, conditions or privileges ofemployment 

because the employee assisted or participated, or is about to assist or participate in any manner in any 

action to carry out the purposes ofeither the ERA or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA), as amended, 

42 U.S.C 2011 et sec. 

The NRC and DOL have complementaly responsibilities in the area ofemployee protection. DOL has the 

respollSlbility under Section 211 ofthe ERA to investigate employee complaints ofdiscrimination and may, 

after an investigation or hearing, order a violator to take affirmative action to abate the violation, reinstate the 

complainant to his or her fOl1ller position with back pay, and award compensatory damages, including 

attorney fees. NRC, although without authority to provide a remedy to an employee, has independent 

authority under· the AEA to take appropriate enforcement action against Commission applicants and 

licensees and their contractors that violate the AEA or Commission requirements, (Le., 10 CFR 50.7 and 

similar requirements in other parts of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations) which prohibit 

discrimination against employees based on their engaging in protected activities. NRC enforcement action 

may include issuance of a Notice of Violation to the responsible applicant, licensee, contractor, and/or 

individual; imposition of a civil penalty; issuance of an ader removing the responsible individual from 

licensed activities; andior license denial, suspension, modification or revocation. 

Although each agency will cany out its statutory respons1bilities independently, the agencies agree that 

admini:sttat:ive efficiency and sound enforcement policies will be maximized by cooperation and the timely 

exchange ofinfonnation in areas ofmutual interest. 

3. 	 AREAS OF COOPERATION 

a. 	 DOL agrees to promptly notify NRC ofany complaint filed with DOL alleging discrimination within 

the scope of Section 211 of the ERA by a Commission licensee, applicant or a contractor or 
subcontractor of a Conunission licensee or applicant. DOL will provide a quarterly listing of 

Section 211 complaints received. DOL will promptly provide NRC a copy of all complaints, 

decisions made prior to a hearing, investigation reports, and orders associated with any hearing or 

administrative appeal on the complaint DOL will also cooperate with the NRC and shall keep the 

NRC informed on the status of any judicial proceedings seeking review of an order of OOL's 

Administrative Review Board issued in a proceeding under Section 211 of the ERA. 

b. 	 NRC and DOL agree to cooperate with each other to the fullest extent possible in every case of 

alleged discriminafun involving employees of Conunission licensees, license applicants, or 

contractors or subcontractors ofCommission licensees or applicants. Each agency agrees to share 

all information it obtains concerning a particular complaint of discrimination and, to the extent 

permitted by law, will protect information identified as sensitive that has been supplied to it by the 

other agency. This cooperation does not require either agency to share information gathered during 

an investigation until the investigation is complete. 

c. 	 For cases in which the NRC completes its investigation of a Section 211 complaint, and DOL's 

investigation is still ongoing, the NRC will provide the results ofits investigation to the appropriate 

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) contact, subject to Department ofJustice 

(DOJ) constraints on the timing ofthe release of NRC investigation material. NRC will take all 

reasonable steps to assist DOL in obtaining access to licensed facilities and any necessary security 

clearances. Consistent with relevant statutes, NRC regulations. and the availability of NRC 

re;ources, the NRC will cooperate with DOL and make available information, agency positions, 

and agency wi1nesses as necessary to assist DOL in completing the adjudication ]ecord on 

complaints filed under Section 211. 

d. 	 Ifthe NRC receives a complaint concerning a possible violation of Section 211, it will infonn the 

complainant that a personal remedy is available only through DOL and that the person must 

personally contact OOL in order to file a complaint. NRC will provide the complainant the local 

address and phone number of the OSHA office and advise the complainant that OSHA must 

receive the complaint within 180 days ofthe alleged discrimination. 

e. 	 Each agency shall designate and maintain points of contact within its headquarters and regional 

offices for purposes ofimplementation ofthe MOV. Matters affecting program and policy issues 

will be handled by the headq~ offices of the agencies. 

4. IMPLEMENTATION 

'The NRC official responsible for implementation ofthis agreement is the Chainnan ofthe NRC. The DOL 

official responsible for implementation ofthis agreement is the Secretary ofLabor. 

5. AMENDMENT AND TERMlNATION 

This Agreement may be amended or modified upon written agreement by both parties to the Agreement. 
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The Agreement may be temrinated upon ninety (90) days written notice by either party. 

6. EFFECTIVE DATE 

This agreement is effective when signed by both parties. 

/sl Shirley Ann Jackson 

Chairman 

U.s. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Dared: 09/01/98 

lsi Alexis Herman 

SecretaIy of Labor 

U.S. Department ofLabor 

Dared: SEP 9, 1998