By Andrew H. Perellis, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Northern District of Indiana rejected the insurer’s assertion that its pollution exclusion clauses unambiguously included all contaminants.
Indiana, unlike other jurisdictions, is pro-insured when it comes to providing coverage for damages arising from pollution events. This is so even where the insurance policy
Continue Reading Despite Pollution Exclusion, Insurer On Hook for Contamination in Indiana
By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
In a recent Federal District Court OSHA 11(c) retaliation case, Perez v. Sandpoint Gas N Go, 14-cv-357 (9-29-2015), Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill provides a strong reminder that the Courts will protect from retaliation employees who raise workplace safety issues.
In this case, the whistleblower had contacted OSHA in 2012 to
Continue Reading Employer Ordered to Pay Whistleblower $100,000 Punitive Damages
By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has just released its whistleblower statistics, showing another jump in the number of whistleblower cases filed with OSHA in FY 2014, to over three thousand.
This is the first time that the total number of claims filed has topped 3,000, and is the result of a
Continue Reading Not Surprisingly, 2014 Sees Another Increase in Whistleblower Cases
By Ada W. Dolph and Craig B. Simonsen
A railroad’s decision to terminate an apprentice electrician whose OSHA injury report revealed he had not been truthful in his employment record about other prior workplace injuries was unlawful retaliation under the whistleblower provision of the Federal Railroad Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. § 20109 (FRSA), OSHA has ordered. The railroad was
Continue Reading Railroad Ordered to Pay $225,000 in Whistleblower Action where Employee Allegedly Lied About Prior Injuries
By Brent I. Clark, Ada W. Dolph, and Craig B. Simonsen
In remarks before its Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee, OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels said that he will lessen the whistleblower’s burden of proof in investigations.
Dr. Michaels spoke at the September 3, 2014 Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee meeting. In his introduction, he noted that from 2009
Continue Reading OSHA Head Says OSHA Will Lower Whistleblower’s Burden of Proof in Investigations
By Ada W. Dolph and Craig B. Simonsen
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently flexed its muscle, announcing a nearly $1 million damages award and reinstatement for a foreman and two truck drivers against an asphalt paving company accused of terminating them in retaliation for filing separate OSHA complaints asserting that they had been directed to violate the
Continue Reading OSHA Orders Asphalt Paving Company to Pay Nearly $1 Million and Reinstate Foreman and Two Drivers In Whistleblower Complaints
An Illinois Appellate Court has weighed in on whether the “absolute pollution exclusion,” found in the typical commercial liability insurance policy, bars coverage for liabilities arising from emissions that complied with a permit limitation. In Erie Insurance Exchange v. Imperial Marble Corp., the Third District (No. 3-10-0380; September 15, 2011) concluded that the pollution exclusion