Whistleblower Calls Out Boeing 737 Max Parts

A June 11 OSHA complaint filed by a Boeing whistleblower alleges the plane maker had as many as 400 damaged or defective 737 Max aircraft parts as of last year, and eliminated records for many of them from its internal record system.
The complaint alleges that Boeing management tried to hide the parts as it sought to conceal quality control issues from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Whistleblower Sam Mohawk has worked as an inspector in Boeing’s Quality Assurance unit since 2011. His complaint was made public Tuesday among evidence disclosed in the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ inquiry into Boeing’s safety and quality practices.
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Sandusky, Ohio’s J.H. Routh Packing has been assessed $528,441 in proposed penalties after workers at the pig processor were exposed to ammonia gas during maintenance work on a refrigeration system.
Two inspections led by OSHA’s Toledo office led to the determination of 43 violations, including 40 serious and one repeat.
The firm employs 372 people at the facility and is owned by HK Property Holdings, a joint venture between Minnesota-based Holden Farms and Kalmbach Feeds of Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
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Washington D.C.’s attorney general is suing five construction companies and brokers claiming they misclassified hundreds of workers as independent contractors instead of employees.
Targeted in the suit are Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (Whiting-Turner), W.G./Welch Mechanical Contractors, LLC (Welch), and three labor brokers—Mechanical Plumbing Crew, Co. (MPC), Ramirez Plumbing, Inc. (Ramirez), and GINCO HVAC, LLC (GINCO).
Welch has a significant presence in the District’s construction industry, according to a statement from the AG’s office on Tuesday.
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OSHA’s Southeast region has scheduled a how-to webinar on federal protection for whistleblowers and how the agency administers these regulations.
The agency said the two-hour program slated for June 26 is open to people employed in the region that includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Among the topics to be covered, include: elements of a whistleblower retaliation claim; how to file a whistleblower complaint; and what to expect during the investigation.
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