Hi Tech Imports LLC Reinstated Worker, Paid $116K in Back Wages in Earlier Agreement
AUSTIN, TX – When an employee at a luxury auto dealership in Austin found out that a co-worker had tested positive for COVID-19 in December 2020, they promptly informed the company’s management, asking them to notify other employees of their exposure risk.
However, when the dealership failed to take action, the concerned employee emailed all company employees about the potential hazards. In less than an hour, the car dealer fired the employee.
On March 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor secured a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The judgment requires Hi Tech Imports LLC, operating as Porsche Austin, to pay the employee $15,000 in compensatory damages. The court also ordered the dealership not to discriminate against employees exercising their federally protected rights to raise workplace safety concerns.
This development follows a lawsuit filed by the department in October 2021 and a federal whistleblower investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA determined that the dealership unlawfully retaliated against the employee in December 2020, violating the whistleblower protections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
“Retaliating against employees who report workplace safety and health concerns is illegal,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas. “In this case, an employee raised legitimate concerns about a potential coronavirus hazard at the car dealership where they worked. Such good faith alerts others to possible risks and makes workplaces safer.”
In a related case, the department and the National Labor Relations Board negotiated an agreement on July 26, 2022, with Hi Tech Motorcars LLC, Hi Tech Imports LLC, Hi Tech Luxury Imports LLC, Hi Tech Partners LLC, and the employee. The agreement required the company to pay the employee $116,231 in back wages and reinstate them to their previous position.
Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Dallas explained, “When employers retaliate against their workers for voicing safety and health concerns, the U.S. Department of Labor will work vigorously to protect workers’ rights. The department is dedicated to ensuring safe and healthful working conditions as required by federal law. No employee should fear their employer for reporting legitimate safety concerns.”
Hi Tech Imports, based in Austin, is a family-operated automotive dealer group that sells and services vehicles made by luxury manufacturers, including Audi, Aston Martin, Bentley, Maserati, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce.
OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the whistleblower provisions of over 20 whistleblower statutes. These protect employees from retaliation for reporting violations of various workplace safety and health, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, securities, tax, antitrust, and anti-money laundering laws and for engaging in other related protected activities.
Learn more about whistleblower protections.
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