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Every employee should be able to go to work knowing that reasonable steps have been taken to protect them from dangerous conditions. Workplace safety matters especially in jobs involving machinery, construction, chemicals, medical care, physical labor, or other hazardous positions, but safety concerns can arise in virtually any Bellevue workplace. Federal and state workplace safety laws exist to protect workers and require employers to take reasonable steps to reduce workplace hazards. At the federal level, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees workplace safety. In Washington, the Department of Labor & Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) generally administers the state’s workplace safety program under the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act. These agencies are there for a reason. Employees should be able to speak up about unsafe workplace conditions without worrying that doing so will cost them their job.
The James Hawkins Firm focuses on the employment-law issues that can arise after an employee raises a workplace safety concern. When an employee reports an unsafe condition, raises a safety complaint, participates in a safety investigation, or otherwise exercises a protected right, the employer may retaliate against them. While illegal, unfortunately, retaliation is often common in these instances and can take many forms. After you raise a safety concern, an employer may suddenly criticize your work, cut your hours, deny you opportunities, change your schedule, discipline you, harass you, demote you, or terminate you. If your treatment at work changed after you spoke up about a safety issue, that timing may matter.
You should not have to choose between staying quiet about a dangerous workplace and protecting your job. If you believe your employer retaliated against you for raising a workplace safety concern, the James Hawkins Firm can review what happened, explain your rights, and help you determine whether you may have an employment-law claim.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA develops and enforces workplace safety and health standards for workplaces covered by federal OSHA and gives employees ways to report unsafe conditions. The purpose is simple: employees should not have to accept unnecessary risks to earn a paycheck.
Washington has its own occupational safety and health program. Through DOSH, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries administers and enforces workplace safety requirements under the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act.
These laws address many aspects of the workplace, including safety procedures, training, protective equipment, hazardous materials, machinery, workplace conditions, and other potential sources of harm. Specific requirements vary by industry and the work being performed. For an employee, understanding the applicable safety rules can be important, but it is only part of the picture when the employer’s conduct affects your employment.
A workplace does not have to be visibly dangerous for a safety problem to exist. Some violations are obvious, while others develop through everyday practices that employees have become accustomed to. Potential safety violations may involve:
In some workplaces, the written safety policy looks adequate. The problem is that employees are expected to do something different in practice. For example, a company may have a procedure requiring protective equipment but pressure employees to skip it because using the equipment slows down production. A supervisor may know about a dangerous condition but repeatedly tell employees to work around it instead of fixing the problem. Employees may also be discouraged from reporting hazards because management has created an environment where complaints are viewed as disloyal or disruptive. Those circumstances matter even more when an employee suffers negative consequences after trying to address the problem.
OSHA and Washington workplace safety agencies have their own enforcement processes. Not every safety violation automatically gives an employee the right to file a private lawsuit. Our focus is different. As employment lawyers, we look at how the employer’s conduct affected you as an employee and whether your rights were violated.
Consider an employee who reports unsafe equipment. The employer does not address the concern, and shortly afterward the employee begins receiving disciplinary warnings despite having a strong performance history. The employer moves the employee to less desirable shifts, and the employee eventually loses their job. The employment-law issue is not simply whether the equipment violated a safety standard. It is whether the employee engaged in protected conduct and whether the employer responded by taking unlawful adverse action. That distinction is important because workplace safety disputes can involve both the underlying hazard and the employer’s treatment of the person who brought it to management’s attention.
Employees should be able to raise legitimate safety concerns without automatically risking their jobs. Washington law protects employees from retaliation for certain workplace safety and health activities. Depending on the circumstances, protected activity can include reporting safety concerns to an employer, filing a safety complaint, participating in a safety inspection, or engaging in other protected safety-related activity. Retaliation doesn’t always look like immediate termination. It can take place gradually or through less obvious changes in the employee’s working conditions. For example, after reporting a safety issue, an employee might suddenly experience:
One isolated workplace disagreement does not necessarily establish retaliation. The surrounding circumstances matter. The timing of events, what the employee reported, who knew about it, how the employer responded, and whether the employee’s history supports the employer’s stated reason for taking action can all be relevant.
Simply reporting a safety concern does not mean an employee can never be disciplined or terminated. Employers may have legitimate reasons for making employment decisions. The question is whether the employer took action because the employee engaged in legally protected conduct. That is why it is important to look at the entire sequence of events rather than one isolated incident. If an employee had years of positive performance reviews and no significant disciplinary history, then suddenly began receiving warnings immediately after reporting a safety problem, that timeline may warrant closer examination.
We may also look at whether other employees who raised similar concerns were treated differently, whether management made statements about the employee’s complaint, and whether the employer’s explanation for its actions changed over time. A workplace safety complaint does not automatically prove retaliation. But an employer’s stated reason for terminating an employee does not necessarily end the inquiry.
When we take on a workplace safety-related employment matter, we do more than identify the safety concern. We investigate how the safety issue relates to the employer’s actions toward the employee. We begin by understanding what happened from your perspective. What was the safety concern? When did you notice it? Who did you tell? How did the company respond? What happened to you afterward?
From there, we may review documents and evidence related to your employment, including communications with supervisors or management, safety complaints, company policies, employee handbooks, disciplinary records, performance reviews, schedules, job assignments, training records, inspection information, and other relevant records. Timing can be particularly important. We may compare how you were treated before and after raising the safety concern. If an employer claims that a termination was based on performance, for example, we may examine your previous performance history, disciplinary record, and whether similar conduct was treated differently before you made the complaint.
We also consider whether the issue extends beyond one employee. If multiple employees raised similar safety concerns or experienced similar treatment afterward, that may provide additional evidence about the employer’s practices. Our goal is to determine what happened, whether protected workplace rights were involved, and what legal remedies may be available.
If you are dealing with a workplace safety concern, take it seriously and keep a record of what happens. Depending on the circumstances, you may have options for reporting a hazard to your employer, Washington L&I/DOSH, or federal OSHA. If you report a concern, keep copies of communications you are permitted to retain and make note of when you reported the issue, who received the complaint, and how management responded.
It can also be helpful to document what happens afterward. If your schedule changes, you receive unexpected discipline, your responsibilities are reduced, or you experience other unusual treatment after making a safety complaint, keep track of those events and the dates they occurred.
You do not need to determine whether your employer violated OSHA regulations or identify the correct employment law before contacting an attorney. That is part of what an employment lawyer can help you evaluate.
A safe workplace depends on more than having rules written in an employee handbook. Employees need to raise legitimate concerns when those rules aren’t followed, and they shouldn’t have to fear losing their livelihood for speaking up about a serious workplace problem. The James Hawkins Firm represents employees, not employers, in employment-law disputes. For more than two decades, our practice has helped employees understand and enforce their rights when employers cross the line.
If you believe you experienced retaliation after reporting a workplace safety concern, participating in a protected safety activity, or raising concerns about dangerous working conditions, we can investigate what happened and help you understand your legal options.
You do not have to figure out whether your situation qualifies as an employment-law claim on your own. We offer free consultations so you can speak with our team, explain what happened, and learn more about your options before deciding how to proceed.
We handle qualifying employment cases on a contingency-fee basis, which means you do not pay attorney’s fees upfront or out of pocket for the legal representation covered by your agreement. Instead, our fee is generally based on the recovery obtained on your behalf. We will explain the specific terms before you decide whether to move forward. If you believe your employer retaliated against you for raising a workplace safety concern, contact our Bellevue employment lawyers today to schedule your free consultation.
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Yeah they’re great 
Nice people and they found things apart from wrongful termination