OSHA Orders Carrier to Rehire Trucker

July 30, 2013 11:00 AM, EDT

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has ordered a trucking company to reinstate a driver and repay him more than $131,000 for allegedly firing him for refusing to drive longer than allowed by law.

Brillo Motor Transportation, Marlborough, Mass., and owner Chuck Cappello fired the trucker in December 2010 after he refused to drive once reaching the 60-hour limit over seven days, OSHA said.

Cappello denied the allegations and said his company works on a 70-hour week over eight days, which is legal.

“He said it was a 60-hour workweek, and he was out of hours,” Cappello told Transport Topics. “We actually run a 70-hour workweek, and he had eight more hours left in the day.” Cappello said he would “absolutely” appeal OSHA’s order.