32 whistleblower complaints filed with US workplace safety regulator against Boeing

In the past three years, Boeing has faced 32 whistleblower complaints lodged with the US workplace safety regulator, as revealed by recently acquired documents, amidst increasing scrutiny of the company's safety practices and standards.

These numbers highlight the potential backlash faced by whistleblowers at Boeing while the company, headquartered in Virginia, is under growing scrutiny regarding its safety record and practices, reports Al Jazeera.

According to the report, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), responsible for addressing retaliation claims from employees who report their employers, received these complaints of retaliation from December 2020 to March of this year, as indicated by a table of figures prepared last month by agency officials.

The records, which Al Jazeera exclusively obtained through a freedom of information request, lack specifics on the purported workplace infractions or Boeing's alleged retaliation in each instance.

Nonetheless, 13 of the complaints were submitted under a law that safeguards whistleblowing concerning aviation safety.

Fifteen complaints pertained to workplace safety, two to fraud, and one to the management of hazardous chemicals. Except for two instances where financial compensation was granted, all complaints with a determined outcome were 

concluded without action from the agency, as per the data.

The most frequently cited reason for OSHA dismissing a complaint, mentioned in seven instances, was the whistleblower's failure to file a report within the required timeframe, which varies from 30 to 180 days.

Among other grounds for concluding a case without action, OSHA also pointed to a lack of jurisdiction and insufficient cooperation from the complainant.

Five cases are still under investigation or awaiting assignment.

It's important to note that the list of complaints may not be comprehensive, as various US agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), handle whistleblower complaints related to aviation.

Additionally, the documents reveal that OSHA initiated a review of the case involving John Barnett, an ex-Boeing employee and whistleblower, following his death last month from what is suspected to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

Barnett was in the process of appealing OSHA's dismissal of his 2017 whistleblower complaint to a higher adjudicatory authority at the time of his passing.

In an email sent on March 26, OSHA's chief of staff, Emily Hargrove, told a colleague that the agency's public affairs team were "asking that we review the decision back in 2017 to dismiss the case".

"Jesse [Lawder, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Public Affairs] indicated the reasoning was because there wasn't evidence that there was a violation of the underlying laws. Can we get a summary of that decision? He also is asking how often cases are dismissed based on that rationale. They also are asking if we made any safety and health issue referrals to FAA out of this complaint," Hargrove wrote.

The outcome of OSHA's review of the case is not referenced in the documents and remains unclear.

OSHA did not respond to requests for comment.

Boeing said safety was a "top priority" for both its workers and passengers on its aircraft.

"For more than a decade, Boeing has had a safety initiative called Go4Zero that aims to eliminate all workplace injuries. Over that time, we've reduced serious injuries by 26 percent and recordable injuries by 62%, and we continue to make progress," a spokesperson said in a statement.

The revelations come as the public testimony of a number of current and former Boeing employees is refocusing attention on the aircraft manufacturer's allegedly hostile environment for whistleblowers and lax safety standards.

At a US Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour testified that he had been threatened for raising concerns about gaps between key sections of the 787 Dreamliner.