Feds: KY coal miner wrongly fired for refusing unsafe work, should get his job back
Federal regulators have alleged in a discrimination complaint that a Harlan County coal company wrongly fired a miner for raising a safety concern.
The complaint seeks reinstatement for the miner, George Rice, and a $15,000 penalty against the company, JRL Coal Inc. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration filed the complaint last week.
Rice was working at JRL’s Magnum #1 mine in February when he was assigned to run a piece of equipment called a section scoop which had a low amount of clearance under the canopy, according to the complaint.
Rice had trouble getting in the scoop because of his size and the low clearance, and had to have help from other miners to get out of the scoop, according to his initial complaint.
Rice also said it was hard for him to operate the controls and see what he was doing, increasing the danger of an accident in the underground mine.
After Rice told the mine safety director he couldn’t operate the scoop safely, the director had him operate another piece of equipment called a rib bolter instead.
In early February, however, a foreman told Rice to go back on the section scoop, according to the MSHA complaint.
When Rice said he couldn’t operate the equipment safely, the foreman sent him home and told him to discuss the issue with the mine superintendent the next day, according to the MSHA complaint.
When Rice did that, the superintendent said he would have to check with the foreman and didn’t assign Rice any work, the complaint said.
Rice asked about his job status on Feb. 8, 9, 10, and 12 without getting a response, then filed a complaint with MSHA alleging he’d effectively been fired for raising a safety concern.
MSHA has taken up the complaint on Rice’s behalf before the federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
The MSHA complaint charges that JRL illegally discriminated against Rice by firing him for reporting a safety concern.
Federal law gives miners the right refuse to work in unsafe conditions, said Lexington attorney Tony Oppegard, who represents Rice along with attorney Wes Addington of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center in Whitesburg.
“Mr. Rice’s case is a classic work refusal case, as well as a classic case of discrimination,” said Oppegard, a former federal and state mine-safety official. “We believe he will win his case and win permanent reinstatement to his former job.”
Oppegard said it takes courage for miners to stand up for their safety rights and risk getting fired given how few coal jobs remain in Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia.
The region has lost thousands of jobs since 2011, primarily because many power plants have switched from burning coal to natural gas.
MSHA sought an order to put Rice back to work until the commission rules on the complaint.
The company agreed instead to pay Rice while the complaint is pending. That is known as economic reinstatement, as opposed to physical reinstatement.
JRL has not formally responded to the complaint. London attorney Drayer Spurlock, who represents JRL, said she could not comment on the pending litigation.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
