WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published a final rule that addresses retaliation complaints under the "whistleblower" provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act.

According to the final rule, it is a violation for employers to "intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, discharge, discipline, harass, suspend, demote, or in any other manner retaliate against any employee" for filing a complaint about an alleged safety or security violation.

In recent years, OSHA has actively pursued complaints -- filed under the provisions in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act -- by drivers who were terminated after they refused to drive when they were out of hours or in unsafe weather conditions.

However, to qualify for whistleblower protection under the new OSHA rule, employees "must have sought from the employer and been unable to obtain correction of the hazardous safety or security condition."

Whistleblower complaints must be filed either orally or written within 180 days after the alleged violation occurred.

Under the new rule, drivers cannot be retaliated against for cooperating with a safety or security investigation by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the National Transportation Safety Board, or any federal, state or local regulatory or law enforcement agency "as to the facts resulting in injury or death to an individual or damage to property occurring in connection with commercial motor vehicle transportation."

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration may "act as a friend of the court" during the proceedings and may receive copies of the documents in a case.

If an employer is found to have violated the law, the employer may be required to reinstate the employee to his/her former job with the same compensation, be required to issue back pay to former employees and pay their litigation costs, including attorney fees, and be forced to pay punitive damages of up to $250,000.

If companies fail to comply with the order, including settlement agreements under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the U.S. Secretary of Labor may file a civil action seeking enforcement of the order in the U.S. District Court where the violation occurred.