Opinion ID: 436313
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Elements of a Valid Claim Under Section 5851

Text: 21 A discrimination claim under Sec. 5851 must include proof: 22 (1) That the party charged with discrimination is an employer subject to the Act; (2) that the complaining employee was discharged or otherwise discriminated against with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment; and (3) that the alleged discrimination arose because the employee participated in an NRC proceeding .... 23 DeFord v. Secretary of Labor, 700 F.2d 281, 286 (6th Cir.1983). 24 As a subcontractor of an NRC licensee, UNSI is an employer subject to the Act. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5851(a). It is also clear that UNSI discriminated against Mackowiak by giving him a Confidential Counseling Statement, by transferring him to less desirable employment, and by discharging him ahead of less senior inspectors. See DeFord, 700 F.2d at 287 (discrimination proved by transfer to less attractive and prestigious job). 25 The question is whether Mackowiak was discriminated against because he participated in an NRC proceeding. The ALJ held that Mackowiak failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. He found that UNSI was unaware of Mackowiak's contacts with the NRC investigators. The Secretary questioned this finding, noting that there was adequate evidence in the record to support an inference that UNSI was motivated in part by Mr. Mackowiak's protected conduct. 26 The presence or absence of retaliatory motive is a legal conclusion and is provable by circumstantial evidence even if there is testimony to the contrary by witnesses who perceived lack of such improper motive. Ellis Fischel State Cancer Hospital v. Marshall, 629 F.2d 563, 566 (8th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 1040, 101 S.Ct. 1757, 68 L.Ed.2d 237 (1981). We defer to the inferences that the Secretary derives from the evidence, not to those of the ALJ. NLRB v. Brooks Camera, Inc., 691 F.2d 912, 915 (9th Cir.1982). 27 The record contains circumstantial evidence to support a finding that UNSI was motivated in part by Mackowiak's contact with the NRC. UNSI's quality assurance manager knew that Mackowiak talked to NRC investigators. The sequence of events was suspicious. UNSI gave transfers and counseling statements to Mackowiak and Robbins on the day that the NRC conducted its exit interviews. 28 Nevertheless, the Secretary found it unnecessary to determine whether UNSI was aware of and motivated by Mackowiak's contacts with the NRC investigators. Instead, he held that Sec. 5851 protects quality control inspectors from retaliation caused by internal complaints regarding safety or quality problems and found that UNSI's decision to fire Mackowiak had been motivated in part by Mackowiak's persistent complaints regarding safety and quality. 29 The Secretary relied on Phillips v. Dept. of Interior Board of Mine Appeals, 500 F.2d 772 (D.C.Cir.1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 938, 95 S.Ct. 1149, 43 L.Ed.2d 415 (1975). In Phillips, the District of Columbia Circuit held that internal safety complaints triggered the protections of the whistle blower provisions of the Federal Mine Health and Safety Act, 30 U.S.C. Sec. 820(b)(1). Phillips, 500 F.2d at 778. See also Donovan v. Stafford Construction Co., 732 F.2d 954 at 960 (D.C.Cir.1984) (following Phillips ). 30 We sustain the Secretary's conclusion that Sec. 5851 protects quality control inspectors from retaliation based on internal safety and quality control complaints. The analogy to Phillips is persuasive. 31 The whistle blower provision in the Energy Reorganization Act is modeled on, and serves an identical purpose to, the provision in the Mine Health and Safety Act. See S.Rep. No. 95-848, 95th Cong., 2nd Sess. at 29, 1978 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News at 7303. 32 They share a broad, remedial purpose of protecting workers from retaliation based on their concerns for safety and quality. See Donovan v. Stafford Construction Co., supra, at 960 (discussing remedial purpose of Mine Health & Safety Act). 33 The rationale for the rule is stronger here. Quality control inspectors play a crucial role in the NRC's regulatory scheme. The NRC regulations require licensees and their contractors and subcontractors to give inspectors the authority and organizational freedom required to fulfill their role as independent observers of the construction process. 10 C.F.R. Part 50, App. B. at 413. In a real sense, every action by quality control inspectors occurs in an NRC proceeding, because of their duty to enforce NRC regulations. 34 At times, the inspector may come into conflict with his employer by identifying problems that might cause added expense and delay. If the NRC's regulatory scheme is to function effectively, inspectors must be free from the threat of retaliatory discharge for identifying safety and quality problems. 35 UNSI argues that the Secretary's ruling would require companies to retain abrasive, insolent, and arrogant quality control inspectors if they comply technically with the requirements of the job. Not so. The ruling simply forbids discrimination based on competent and aggressive inspection work. In other words, contractors regulated by Sec. 5851 may not discharge quality control inspectors because they do their jobs too well. 36 There is substantial evidence to support the Secretary's conclusion that Mackowiak was terminated, in part, because he made internal complaints regarding quality and safety problems. There was testimony indicating that UNSI discouraged its inspectors from asking too many questions, and pressured those who did. Mackowiak was very persistent in raising questions. 37 Further, several of the specific instances used to justify his termination involved protected conduct. When asked to identify specific instances of Mackowiak's bad attitude, his manager cited Request for Information No. 433. It accused UNSI personnel of falsifying rod control documentation and stated that if continued, it would appear as though UNSI management condoned the practice. The subject of this memorandum was later identified by NRC inspectors as an open area of UNSI noncompliance with NRC regulations. 38