The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed a suit against U.S. Steel after two of their employees were suspended without pay for violating the company’s immediate reporting policy. The DOL says they hope the suit will change this immediate reporting policy and also reverse the suspensions of these two workers, who had been injured several days before they made their reports but did not immediately realize they had been injured because their symptoms did not manifest themselves for a few days.

The two workers were injured at work in February of 2014. One pulled out a splinter during his shift and continued working without issue, until two days later when his hand swelled up with an infection. He received medical treatment and reported his injury, but was suspended for five days without pay because he violated the company’s policy of immediately reporting injuries. His suspension was later reduced to two days without pay but still not reversed.

Another worker hit his head on a beam and was wearing a hard hat at the time; he says he did not feel pain that day. A few days later he was feeling stiff in his shoulder and when he went to get treatment it was reported to his employer as a possible worksite injury. He was also suspended five days without pay for failing to report the incident immediately.

The two workers filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) because they thought their company had taken retaliatory actions against them for reporting injuries. Any employee who feels that they have been unfairly punished or retaliated against can file a whistleblower complaint with OSHA. OSHA alleges that U.S. Steel violated a provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act because they used their policy as a way to punish employees who reported injuries late, and the company definition of “late” seemed unreasonable to the agency. They are hoping the company changes their policy to allow a worker to report an injury up to seven days after the employee is aware they have been injured or sickened. They are also seeking to reverse the suspensions of the two employees as well as pay lost wages and compensatory benefits. U.S. Steel has not dismissed the suspensions of either employee and has so far refused to change their policy.

THE OSHA regional administrator in Philadelphia, Richard Mendelson, said that this immediate reporting policy discourages workers from coming forward with their injuries because they are afraid they will be punished for reporting it later.

“Because workers don’t always recognize injuries at the time they occur, the policy provides an incentive for employees to not report injuries once they realize they should, since they are concerned that the timing of their report would violate the company’s policy and result in some kind of reprimand,” said Mendelson.

The case had been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.