A recent decision from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals discusses retaliation claims under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”).  Secretary of Labor v. Lear Corp., No. 15-12060, 2016 WL 2788693 (11th Cir. May 13, 2016).  Lear Corporation (“Lear”) sued a former employee in state court for defamation and intentional interference with business relations.  Thereafter, the United States Secretary of Labor sued Lear claiming that Lear’s state court law suit was merely retaliation for complaints by the employee about health and safety conditions at Lear’s manufacturing plant.

A trial court entered an injunction which prohibited Lear from suing any current or former employees, and Lear appealed.  The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Secretary of Labor was empowered to file such law suits and the trial court generally possessed the power to enter injunctions.  But, the Eleventh Circuit vacated the injunction because the trial court failed to conduct the correct analysis for issuing an injunction.

A federal trial court can only enjoin a state court law suit like Lear’s if it finds:  (1) retaliatory motive and a lack of a reasonable basis for filing the law suit; or, (2) preemption of the state court law suit by some federal law.  In this case, the trial court failed to make either finding and instead issued an injunction “based on potential for retaliation alone.”

In summary, the Eleventh Circuit recognized that law suits filed by employers in state court could be retaliatory and in violation of OSHA’s whistleblower protections.  But, such law suits can only be stopped by a federal court if the court performs the correct analysis.