Another teachable moment for those who think they should take action against an employee who was looking out for their safety and the safety of other workers. The New York City Transit Authority, who was found to have retaliated against one of their whistleblowing employees, now faces fines of $52,500.

In 2012, there was a safety inspection at the Transit Authority’s maintenance location in Brooklyn, which an employee participated in with his supervisor. When inspectors asked about a drill press the supervisor said it was broken, and the employee showed the inspectors that it was working and turned the machine on. The supervisor did not like that and threated the employee with losing overtime, and the employee eventually moved to another job at the site but was harassed by his new supervisor and co-workers.

He filed a complaint with OSHA and they found that his claim was warranted and that the operation was in violation of employee protection laws. They were ordered to pay him $48,000 in punitive damages and expunge his work records. They also were to pay him $2,500 in compensatory damages, and his original supervisor who was with him during the time of the inspection is to pay him $2,000 in punitive damages.

The Transit Authority must also provide their managers with whistleblower training, provide new employees with OSHA information and inform them of their rights.

The OSHA regional administrator in the city, Robert Kulick, said that the transit authority’s behavior may “suggest that employee safety is not its primary concern” and that retaliatory actions can hurt all employees, not just the one who was retaliated against because it means that now when workers see hazards they might be too scared to speak up for fear of being harassed.