Boeing Co. has received 32 whistleblowing complaints from U.S. workplace safety regulators over the past three years, newly obtained documents reveal, as the embattled aircraft maker's standards come under increased scrutiny.
The numbers reveal the extent of Boeing's alleged retaliation against whistleblowers as the Virginia-based company faces mounting questions over its safety record and standards.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which handles retaliation claims against workers who blow the whistle against their employers, received fewer retaliation claims between December 2020 and March of this year, according to a statistical table compiled by the agency last month. did. At the agency.
The document, obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera through a Freedom of Information request, does not detail any alleged workplace violations or Boeing's alleged retaliation.
However, 13 of the complaints were filed under statutes protecting whistleblowers in aviation safety matters.
Fifteen of the complaints were filed under workplace safety legislation, two were filed in the fraud category and one related to the management of toxic chemicals.
The figures show that, with the exception of two cases in which monetary compensation was awarded, all complaints with specified outcomes were closed without action by authorities.
The most common reason OSHA closed a complaint, cited in seven cases, was that the whistleblower did not file a report within a specified period of 30 to 180 days.
Among other reasons why the case was closed without any action being taken, OSHA also cited lack of jurisdiction and complainant's lack of cooperation.
Five cases were still under investigation or pending assignment.
The list of complaints is not necessarily exhaustive, as there are various agencies in the United States that handle aviation-related whistleblowing, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The documents also show that OSHA began investigating former Boeing employee and whistleblower John Barnett's case after he was found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound last month. Showing.
At the time of Barnett's death, OSHA was appealing the dismissal of his 2017 whistleblower complaint to an appellate court.
In an email sent March 26, OSHA Chief of Staff Emily Hargrove told her colleagues that OSHA's public affairs team is “asking them to review their 2017 decision to dismiss the case. ” he said.
“Jesse [Lawder, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Public Affairs] It said this was because there was no evidence that there had been a violation of the underlying law. Could you give us an overview of that decision? He also asked how often cases are dismissed on that basis. They also ask whether you have reported any safety and health issues to the FAA based on this complaint,” Hargrove wrote.
The outcome of OSHA's review of this incident was not mentioned in the document and remains unknown.
OSHA did not respond to requests for comment. Boeing did not respond to inquiries in time for publication.
The revelations come as public testimony from numerous current and former Boeing employees has once again focused attention on the plane maker's harsh environment and lax safety standards for whistleblowers.
At a U.S. Senate committee hearing Wednesday, Boeing engineer Sam Salepour testified that he was threatened for raising concerns about gaps between major parts of the 787 Dreamliner.
“They're putting out defective planes,” Salefer said. “I have serious concerns about the safety of 787s and 777s and am willing to take professional risks to speak out about them.”
Another witness, former Boeing engineer Ed Pearson, accused the company of a “criminal cover-up” in the investigation into the mid-air explosion of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane in January, and said regulators had put a cap on the company's production. This led to the establishment of the .
Before Wednesday's hearing, Boeing said its 787 and 777 planes safely transported billions of passengers around the world while in service and that there were problems with the plane's structural integrity. denied.
“Under the FAA's oversight, we have carefully inspected and reworked our aircraft to improve production quality to meet rigorous standards measured in hundredths of an inch,” the company said in a statement. Ta.
“We have absolute confidence in the safety and durability of the 787 Dreamliner. We have absolute confidence in the safety of the 777, the most successful wide-body aircraft family in aviation history. ”
After the hearing, Boeing said retaliation against the company is “strictly prohibited.”