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UNITED STATES k-A NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION i
- i REGION 11
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- E 101 MARIETTA STREET. N.W.. SUITE 2900 ATLANTA. GEORGIA 303234190 h,>
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FEB I 6 S M
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Docket No. 50-302 License No. DPR-72 j
EA 93-226 i
F1orida. Power Corporation-Mr. P..M. Beard, Jr. (NA2I)
Senior Vice President
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Nuclear Operations ATTN: Manager, Nuclear Licensing 15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River, Florida 34428-6708 Gentlemen:
J SU8 JECT:
(U.S. Department of Labor Case No. 88-ERA-29)
This letter refers to the results of an administrative proceeding conducted by i
the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) which involved a complaint of employee discrimination filed by a former employee of' Fluor Constructors International, i-Inc. (Fluor), at Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River 3 Nuclear Plant j
i under the provisions of Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, i
as amended (ERA) (recently changed to Section 211 by the Energy Policy Act of 1992).
The 00L proceedings consisted of an investigation, an administrative hearing conducted by a 00L Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and a final order i
issued by the Secretary of Labor finding that discrimination occurred in the -
As a result of'the DOL proceedings and findings, the Nuclear Regulatory case.
Commission (NRC or Commission) has concluded that a violation of Section 210 4
and of NRC regulations occurred, specifically a violation of 10 CFR 50.7, which prohibit discrimination against an employee for engaging in activity protected by Section 210/211 of the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA).
This i
violation, including its cause and corrective actions to preclude recurrence, was discussed with you, members of your staff and representatives of Fluor during an enforcement conference held in' the Region II Office on November 22, l
1993.
i The violation described in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) concerns 4
the finding of discrimination in DOL Case No. 88-ERA-29, captioned Doualas A.
Tritt v. Fluor Constructors. Inc.
In this case, Mr. Tritt (Complainant) filed a complaint with DOL on December 17, 1987, alleging that he was laid off from his job as.an electrician on December 3, 1987 because he had raised safety concerns which related to health physics requirements for work being perforiend
.in the reactor building during an outage-(Refuel Cycle IV).
The DOL District l
Director issued an initial determination in the case on May 17, 1988 finding that the Complainant was laid off because of a lack of work and that 1
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i discrimination was not a factor in the layoff decision.
The District L
Director's initial determination was appealed by the Complainant on May 22,
.1988 and an administrative hearing was conducted by DOL.
On January 12, 1989, an ALJ issued a " Recommended Decision and Order" finding that there was no 1
i evidence to support a finding that retaliation was a factor in the actions taken against the Complainant.
Finding that the Complainant was not laid off for raising safety concerns, the ALJ recommended the complaint be dismissed.
On August 25, 1993, the Secretary of Labor issued a decision in which he disagreed with the ALJ and found that Complainant was discriminated against i
because he had engaged in protected activity and that Fluor violated the ERA by laying off Complainant on December 3, 1987 without doing an adequate investigation of the concerns raised by Mr. Tritt.
The NRC adopts the final decision of the Secretary of Labor in this case and 1
i finds that a violation of 10 CFR 50.7 occurred when the Complainant raised i
safety concerns and was subsequently laid off as a result of raising those concerns.
Under 10 CFR 50.7, discrimination by a Commission licensee or a contractor of a Commission licensee against an employee for engaging in i
protected activities is prohibited.
In accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions," (Enforcement Policy) 10 CFR Part 2, Appendix C, the violation has been categorized as a Severity Level III violation because the discriminatory action taken against the Complainant was initiated by Fluor personnel who were at or above first-line supervisory i
positions.
The NRC recognizes that the discrimination involved in this case ocedrred in 1987 and that in the intervening years Florida Power Corporation has implemented many improvements in its programs to address employee concerns and i
to ensure that employees feel free to raise safety concerns without fear of i
discrimination.
Some of these improvements include an active and aggressive employee concerns program, high visibility of corporate values and philosophy j
l regarding open and candid communications as expressed by senior management's attitude that legitimate concerns must be welcomed and not just tolerated, administrative controls on contractors that include contractual incorporation of requirements for handling employee concerns, and training for employees, l
supervisors and managers. Notwithstanding these corrective actions and the time that has passed since the violation occurred, enforcement is warranted to provide a clear message that discrimination is not acceptable and that licensees are responsible for assuring that their contractors do not I
discriminate.
A civil penalty normally is considered for violations categorized at Severity Level III or higher. The base civil penalty for a Severity Level III violation is $50,000. However, no civil penalty is being proposed in this i
case due to Statute of Limitations considerations.
Therefore, I have been authorized, after consultation with the Director, Office of Enforcement, the Deputy Executive Director for Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Regional Operations and Research, and the Commission, to issue the enclosed Notice of Violation
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with a Severity Level III violation to emphasize the importance of ensuring
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j Florida Power Corporation E I 81994 that every effort is made to provide an environment in which all employees may j
freely identify safety concerns without fear of retaliation or discrimination.
You are required to respond to this letter and should follow the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice of Violation (Notice) when preparing your response.
In your response, you should document the specific actions taken 1
and any additional actions you plan to prevent recurrence. After reviewing your response to this Notice, including any additional corrective actions and the results of future inspections, the NRC will determine whether further NRC enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with NRC regulatory requirements.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter and its enclosure will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room.
The responses directed by this letter and the enclosed Notice are not subject to the clearance procedures of the Office of Management and Budget as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No.96-511.
Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact us.
Sincerely, Stewart D. Ebne Regional Adminis rator
Enclosure:
Notice of Violation cc w/ encl:
Gary L. Boldt Vice President, Nuclear Production Florida Power Corporation 15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River, FL 34428-6708 B. J. Hickle, Director i
Nuclear Plant Operations Florida Power Corporation 15760 West Power Line Street i
Crystal River, FL 34428-6708 cc w/enci (cont'd):
See next page i
i:
Florida Power Corporation FEB I 6 1894 cc w/enci (cont'd):
R. C. Widell, Director Nuclear Operations Site Support Florida Power Corporation 15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River, FL 34428-6708 Gerald A. Williams Corporate Counsel Florida Power Corporation MAC - A5A P. O. Box 14042 St. Petersburg, FL 33733 Ric Carter, Senior Director Labor Relations Fluor Constructors International, Inc.
150 Executive Center Drive Greenville, SC 29615 t
George S. Renshaw, Project Manger Fluor Constructors International, Inc.
15760 West Power Line Street Crystal River, FL 34428-6708 James R. Wiley, Esq.
Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, Smith and Cutler, P.A.
t One Harbour Place Post Office Box 3239 l
Tampa,'FL 33601 Associate Solicitor for Fair Labor Standards U.S. Department of Labor Room N-2716 200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20210 l
Regional Director U.S. Department of Labor Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division i
1371 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30367 cc w/enci (cont'd): Sao next.page
. - =-.
Florida Power Corporation FEB I 6 5G4 cc w/enci (cont'd):
District Director Wage and Hour Division U.S. Department of Labor /ESA Suite 300 4905 West Laurel St.
Tampa, Florida 33607 4
Attorney General Department of Legal Affairs The Capitol Tallahassee, FL 32304 Bill Passetti Office of Radiation Control Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 4
1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700 2
Joe Myers, Director Division of Emergency Preparedness Department of Community Affairs 2740 Centerview Drive Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100 Chairman Board of County Commissioners Citrus County 110 N. Apopka Avenue Inverness, FL 36250 i
Robert B. Borsum B&W Nuclear Technologies 1700 Rockville Pike, Suite 525 Rockville, MD 20852-1631 l
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