Donovan Salvage Works fined $40,000 for wrongful firing

The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with Georgetown-based Donovan Salvage Works after a federal whistleblower investigation found the company fired a smelter operator for reporting safety concerns.

According to a press release issued June 28, Donovan Salvage has agreed to pay $40,000 in back wages and damages, agreed to remove references to protected activity and negative actions from the employee’s personnel file, provide a neutral job reference, post Occupational Safety and Health Administration whistleblower postings at the worksite and provide whistleblower training to all employees.

“Employers who retaliate against workers who raise safety concerns create a potentially dangerous work environment and a chilling effect that discourages others from voicing their concerns,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Michael Rivera, in a prepared statement. “No employee should fear retaliation or termination by an employer for freely exercising rights protected under the law.”

Donovan Salvage, a recycling and used auto parts business, has been located off Donovans Road outside Georgetown since the 1960s. Current owner Mike Herbert purchased the property in the early 2000s.

The settlement comes after OSHA determined the company wrongly terminated the employee for alerting his supervisor about a smelter leaking propane.

The employee alleged the supervisor ignored his concerns and directed him to keep working, said the release. The employee refused, and the supervisor called technicians to address the issue, but also directed the employee to go home, telling the employee, says the release, that he would not be paid for the remainder of the day. Technicians later found and repaired the leak.

The Department of Labor’s release says the employee later contacted OSHA to report the leak. After OSHA investigators contacted the yard regarding the reported safety hazard, the owner of the company concluded that the employee had called OSHA and decided to fire him in retaliation, said the report.

“This settlement goes a long way in making the terminated employee whole and sends a clear and strong message from the U.S. Department of Labor to employers that worker safety must always be their first concern,” said Deputy Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia, in a prepared statement.

The settlement follows a safety and health case investigated by OSHA that resulted in the agency issuing 13 serious citations and $81,255 in proposed penalties to the company.

This case with the U.S. Department of Labor isn’t the only legal issue facing Donovan Salvage. Citing dozens of violations, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control issued a $1.7 million fine against the business in November. The fine was appealed to the Delaware Environmental Appeals Board, but a hearing scheduled for early May was postponed while the state and salvage yard work to resolve the matter. As of press deadline July 3, the hearing has not been rescheduled, but a stipulation put in place by appeals board Chair Dean Holden is that it takes place no later than December 2023.

The Donovan Salvage Works owner could not be reached for comment.