ML20198F737

Discusses Investigations of Complaints of Retaliation Against Employees Who Engaged in Protected Activities.Based on NRC Review of All Info & Per 10CFR50.7,violation May Have Occurred.Synopses of OI Repts 4-96-035 & 4-96-059 Encl

ML20198F737
Person / Time
Site:	South Texas
Issue date:	01/08/1998
From:	Merschoff E NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV)
To:	Cottle W HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER CO.
References
EA-97-341, NUDOCS 9801120136
Download: ML20198F737 (9)

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AR LING 10N. T E X AS 76011 8064 January 8, 1998

' ' EA 07-341 i William T. Cottle, President South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company P.O. Box 289 Wadsworth, Texas 77483

SUBJECT:

APPARENT VIOLATION OF EMPLOYEE PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS (NRC OFFICE OF INV8iSTIGATIONS REPORT NOS. 4 96-035 AND 4-96-059)

Dear Mr. Cottle:

This is in refeience to the NRC's investigations of complaints of retaliation against employees who engaged in proteded activities. The investigations were conducted by the NRC's Office of Investigations (OI) into complaints of retaliation against four engineers at the South Texas Project Electric Generating Station (STP). These same engineers filed complaints with the United States Department of Labor (DOL)in July 1996, alleging violations of Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act by their employer, Houston Lighting & Power Co.(HL&P)," The-synopses of the NRC investigation reports referenced above are enclosed. In addition to the investigative material compiled by 01, the NRC reviewed the transcripts of depositions that were forwarded to the NRC by HL&P's attorneys in a letter dated August 25,1997, to E. Len Williamson, Director of Ol's Region IV Field Office. The NRC also reviewed your September 26, 1997, letter to James Lieberman, Director of NRC's Office of Enforcement, in which you summarized HL&P's actions in this case. On December 9,1997, Gary Sanbom of my staff discussed the matters below with you and members of your staff.

Based on the NRC's review of all available information, we conclude that a violation of NRC regulations prohibiting discrimination against employees who engage in protected activities,

.10 C.F.R. 6 50.7, may have occurred. The apparent violation involves retaliatory actions which constituted a hostile work environment, resulting in the reluctance of some individuals in the1 design engineering department to pursue safety-related concerns.

Our basis for concluding a violation of 10 C.F.R. @ 50,7 may have occurred is as follows:

Four individuals, Messrs. Carbone, Sulouff, Parthasarathy, and Hales, engaged in protected activity by, among other things, complaining about schedule compressions and

'The complaints filed with DOL (97-ERA-007; 008; 009; and 010) resulted in se',tlement agreements between HL&P and the complainants. The agreements were appromd by the DOL

' Administrative Review Board on June 27,1997.

'On November 17,1997, the NRC licenses for both STP units were transferred from Houston Lighting & Power Co: tu the STP Nuclear Operating Company.

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2-the potentialimpact of such compressions on safety, raising concerns about the operability of ventilation dampers in the fuel handling building, alleging that a hostile work environment existed within the department, and filing complaints with DOL alleging

- violations of Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act, as well as participating in the associated Section 211 DOL proceedings.

HL&P management, including the former manager of the electrical engineerir g/

instrumentation and control division, and the manager of the design engineering department, were aware of the protected activities of these individuals. In early 1994 Mr.

Carbone began complaining to the manager of the design engineering department of an abusive and intimidating work environment. Mr. Carbone and a second employee approached the manager of the design engineering department in January of 1995 to request transfers because they did not wish to continue working for the former manager of the electrical engineering / instrumentation and control division, whom they considered abusive. Their request was denied. In addition, on August 12,1995, Mr. Carbone and Mr. Hales met with the manager of the design engineering department to discuss perceived safety concerns involving schedule compression and that these employees had continuing problems with the former manager of the electrical engineering /

instrumentation and control division. The manager of the design engineering department responded that he was " sick and tired" of complaints about this manager.

The protected activities appear to have provoked various adverse actions against the four engineers, including: (1) being labeled non-team players and " mutineers" by the manager of the design engineering department; (2) Mr. Carbone and Mr. Sulouff being pressured to submit resignations and to enter into severance agreements; (3) Mr. Sulouff being threatened by the former manager of the electrical engineering / instrumentation and control division on April 1,1996, with a lowered performance appraisal and loss of bonus; (4) the engineers being told by the manager of the design engineering department not to apply for the division mana9, Js job when it was vacated; (5) the engineers being subjected to acts of intimidation and humiliation by the former manager of the electrical engineering / instrumentation and control division (e.g., screaming, yelling, profanity); and (6) the engineers being refused permission to participate in DOL proceedings on paid leave, as had employees who participated for the licensee.

The adverse actions against these individuals appear to have been repetitNe and pervasive, taking place over a two-year petvod beginning in early 1994, and, as a whole, appear to have constituted a hostile working environment and to have created a chilling effect upon other employees. Specifically, one employee told Ol that as a result of events involving Mr. Carbone and Mr. Sulouff, the impression was created among employees that there would be retaliation if er..ployees did what they believed was right.

Another employee told 01 about writing a condition report on the diesel generators and hoping not to get into trouble for it. Furthermore, it appears that HL&P failed to take any remedial action, despite its own climate assessment conducted in 1994 and despite specific complaints about a hostile work environment in this department, until June 1996, after two individuals stated through their attorneys that HL&P had violated 10 CFR @

50.7.

7 3-The NRC's concern about this matter is heightened by previous violations of 10 CFR 6 50.7 at STP' and because the problems in the design engineering' department occurred between 1994

- and 1996, when, according to statements made by HL&P in letters and at conferences to

- discuss other discrimination concerns, emphasis was being placed on training supervisors on

. the importance of maintaining an environment in which individuals would feel free to raise concerns without fear of retaliation. The managers involved in this matter appear to have had a -

lack of understanding of, or a disregard for, the NRC requirements conceming treatment of 1

individuals who rai e concerns about safety or compliance issues.

This apparent violation is being considered for escalated enforcement action in accordance with the " General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement Actions"(Enforcement

- Policy), NUREG-1600. A copy of NUREG 1600 with revisions made as of_ September 1997 is enclosed.' The NRC is net issuing a N'otice of Violation at this time. You will be advised by separate correspondence of the results of our deliberations on this matter. Also, please be aware that the characterization of the apparent violation described in this letter may change as a result of further NRC review.

As discussed with you on December 9,1997, the NRC intends to conduct a closed, transcribed predecisional enforcement conference to discuss this apparent violation. By letter dated December 11,1997, your attorney, Mr. Alvin Gutterman of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, requested the investigative reports. We do not intend to make the reports public until we have made an

- enforcement decision in this matter. The NRC believes that STP Nuclear Operating Company is sufficiently familiar with the details of this case through its own investigation and involvement in preparing for a possible DOL hearing. Therefore, this request is denied. We request that you contact Mr. Joseph Tapia at (817)860-8243 to discuss the specific arrangaments for the predecisional enforcement conferences As discussed with you previously, the four individuals who filed complaints with the DOL will be invited to attend the conference and will be given an opportunity to make a statement following your presentation. STP Nuclear Operating Co. will be given an opportunity to rebut any statements made.

Please note that the decision to hold a predecisional enforcement conference does not mean that the NRC has made a fina! determination that a violation occurred or that enforcement action will be taken in this case. The conference is an opportunity for HL8P to provide its views on:

1) whether a violation occurred; 2) if so, the severity level of the violation; 3) corrective actions taken or planned,4) the application of the factors that the NRC considers when it determines whether a civil penalty should be assessed in accordance with Section VI.B.2 of the-Enforcement Policy; and 5) any other application of the Enforcement Policy to this case, including the exercise of discretion in accordance with Section Vll.

'in October 1995, the NRC assessed civil penalties of $160,000 for discrimination against security personnelin 1992 (EA Nos.95-077 and 95-078). In September 1996, the NRC assessed civil penalties of $200,000 for discrimination against contract employees in 1991 and

, early 1994 (EA Nos.96-133 and 96-136),

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-4 The NRC recognizes that the manager of the electrical engineering / instrumentation and control division at the time of this apparent violation is no longer employed at STP, having resigned in June 1996. The NRC requests that other managers involved in this matter, including the manager of the design engineering department and the vice president of nuclear engineering, attend this conference and be prepared to discuss their involvement in and perspective on the actions cited above.

In accordance with 10 C.F.R. $ 2.790 of the NRC's " Rules of Practice," a copy of this letter will be placed in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR).

Since i,

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Ellis W. Merschof'l Regional AdminisT t Docket Nos. 50 4 98;50-499 License Nos. NPF-76; NPF-80

Enclosures:

1.

Synopses of 01 Report Nos. 4-96 035 and 4-96-059 2.

NUREG-1600, as revised cc w/ Enclosure 1:

Lawrence E. Martin, Vice President Nuclear Assurance & Licensing STP Nuclear Operating Company P.O. Box 289 Wadsworth Texas 77483 Mr. J. C. Lanier/Mr. A. Ramirez City of Austin Electric Utility Department 721 Barton Springs Road Austin, Texas 78704 Mr. K. J. Fied!er/Mr. M. T. Hardt Cit / Public Service Board P.O. Box 1771 San Antonio, Texas 78296 C. R. Crisp /R. L. Balcom Houston Lighting & Power Company P.O. Box 1700 Houston, Texas 77251 l

, Jon C. Wood

- Matthews & Branscomb One Alamo Center 106 S. St. Mary's Street, Suite 700 San Antonio, Texas 78205-3692 Jack R. Newman, Esq.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius 1800 M. Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036-5869 Mr. G. E. Vaughn/Mr C. A. Johnson Central Power & Light Company P.O. Box 289 Mail Code: N5012 Wadsworth, Texas 77483 INPO Recoals Center 700 Galleria Parkway Atlanta, Georgia 30339-5957 Bureau of Radiation Control State of Texas 1100 West 49th Street Austin, Texas 78756 Mr. Glenn W. Dishong Texas Public Utility Commission 7800 Shoal Creek Blvd.

Suite 400N Austin, Texas 78757 1024 John Howard, Director Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Office of the Governor P,0. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711 Judge, Matagorda County l

Matagorda County Courthouse 1700 Seventh Street Bay City, Texas 77414

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. LicensNig Representative

! Houston Lighting & Power Company?

Suite 610 Three Metro Center;

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Bethesda, Maryland' 20814 '

j Jeffrey P Carbone

- 1315 Berrytree Drive.

Sugarland, Texas 77479 '

Gary W. Hales -

" #10 Chaparral.-

, ! Bay City, Texas 77414 -

S. Parthasarathy.:

614 Thatway...

- Lake Jackson, Texas 77566-6011 Michael D. Sulouff 131 Poinciana Lake Jackson, Texas 77566-6011

- Rodney Wiseman, Esq.

Wommack, Denman & Moore, P.C.

Post Office Drawer 828 Lake Jackson, Texas 77566 David K.- Colapinto, Esq.

Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, P.C.

- 3233 P. St. NW Washington, D.C. 20007-2756-Randy T. Leavitt, Esq.

Michael L, Burnett, Esq.

Minton, Burton, Foster & Collins--

1100 Guadalupe Street Austin, Texas 78701

. Jerry Foster -

. Occupational Safety and Health Adm.inistration 525 Griffin Street, Room 602~-

' Dallas, Texas 75202-5024 ~

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DEDO (0-17G21)

Lieberman, OE (0-7H5)

OE:EAFile (0 7H5) 01 (0-3E4)

Goldberg, OGC (0-15B18i Chandler, OGC (0-15B18)

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TPGwynn (TPG)

WBrown (WLB)

GSanborn (GFS)

GMVasquez (GMV)

BHenderson (BWH)

MHammond (MFH2)

CHackney (CAH)

DKunihiro (DMK1)

Art Howell(ATH)

DChamberlain (DDC)

Tapia (JIT)

DLoveless (DPL)

KBrockman (KEB)

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a SYNOPS'IS This investigation was-initiated by the. Nuclear Regulaldry Commission (NRC).

Office of Investigations,' Region IV. on July 16, 1996.~ to determine if a

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y supervisor and a senior consulting engineer, at Houston' Lighting & Power.

South Texas Project (STP), were subjected to a hostile work environment. for-

reporting ~ safety concerns.

Based on the evidence. developed, the allegation-that a supervisor and a senior-consulting engineer.were subjected to a hostile work environment-created by the former Electrical /Instrumention:& Controls (E/l&C). division. manager.in retaliation for. engaging in-protected activities was substantiated.

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l' NOT FOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE WITHOUT APPROVAL OF FIELD OFFICE-DIRECTOR, 0FFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS, REGION IV Case'No. 4-96 035 1

4-SYNOPSIS This_ investigation wasLinit'dled by'the Nuclear Regulatory Commission-(NRC).

i Office of Investigations (01).-Region IV"(RIV)..on November 14. 1996. to-y determine 1f: a-supervisor.and a consulting engineer at Houstori Lighting-&-

Power (HL&P). South: Texas Project (STPL. were subjected to-a-hostile work

- environment:for reporting safety concerns.

j Based on the evidence developed. the allegation that a supervisor and a' consulting engineer were subjected to a hostile work environment.-created by-the former Electrical /Instrumentatioit & Control division manager in-retaliation for engaging m protected activities. was substantiate ('

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- NOT FOR PUBLIC 01SCLCSURE WITHOUT APPROVAL OF-

- FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS, REGION IV Case Nof 4-96-0S9 1

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