ML20212Q321
| ML20212Q321 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Wolf Creek  |
| Issue date: | 08/29/1986 |
| From: | Koester G KANSAS GAS & ELECTRIC CO. |
| To: | Martin R, Taylor J NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV), NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE) |
| References | |
| EA-84-087, EA-84-87, KMLNRC-86-154, NUDOCS 8609040198 | |
| Download: ML20212Q321 (5) | |
Text
'
j
~
KANSAS GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY THE ELECTAC COMPANY August 29, 1986 otrum e norsvra VCE P#EStDENT - NUCLE AR Mr. J. M. Taylor, Director Office of Inspection and Enforcement U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D. C.
20555 Mr. R. D. Martin, Regional Administrator U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 1000 Arlington, Texas 76011 KMLNRC 86-154 Re:
Docket No. STN 50-482 Ref:
KMLNRC 86-155 dated 8/29/86 from GLKoester, KG&E, to JMTaylor, NRC Subj:
Enforcement Action 84-87 Gentlemen:
,G This letter is written in response to your letter of July 30, 1986, which
' requested a response to Enforcement ' Action 84-87.
The issue was also discussed in the Enforcenent Conference held August 7, 1984.
As requested, tha Enforcemenc Action is being addressed in five parts.
a)
Admission or denial. of the alleged violationg b)
The reason for the violation, if admitted; c)
The corrective steps which have been taken and results achieved; d)
The corrective steps which will be taken to avoid further violations; and e)
The date when full compliance will achie ved.
Finding:
10 CPR 50.7 prohibits discrimination by a licensee against an employee for engaging in certain protected activities. Discrimination includes discharge and other actions that relate to compensation,
- terms, conditions, and privileges of employoment.
The activities protected include reporting of quality discrepancies and safety probler:s by an employee to his employer.
8609040198 860829 M
PDR ADOCK 05000482 y
G PDR
\\
201 N. Market - Wichtta. Kansas - Mail Address: RO. Box 208 i Wichita, Kansas 67201 - Telephone: Area Code (316) 261-6451
g.
a KMLNRC 86-154 Pago 2 August 29, 1986 Contrary to the above, the licensee discriminated against James E. Welle,
a contract employee who was engaging in a protected activity as a que.lity assurance inspector.
Mr. Wells was placed on probation on June 20,
- 1983, terminated on August 4, 1983, and subsequently refused re-employement for reporting quality discrepancies and safety problems to the licennee's Quality Assurance Manager.
The discrimination involved a managment level above the first line of supervision.
These acts of discrimination were substantiated by U. S.
Department of Labor findings issued on September 26, 1983, in accordance with Section 210(b) of the Energy Reorganization Act of
- 1974, as amended.
A U.
S.
Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge subsequently ruled on February 27, 1984 (83-ERA-12) that an act of discrimination had occurred and this finding was affirmed by the Decision and Final Order of the Secretary of Labor issued on June 14, 1984.
Admission or Denial of the Alleged Violation:
In May, 1983, James E.
- Wells, Jr.,
a Volt Information Sciences, Inc.,
Technical Services Division, contract employee, was engaged at the Wolf Creek Generating Station OdCGS) in the electrical walk-down group as an inspector in the Quality branch. A requirement of his job was to report any quality discrepancies and safety problems he found during his inspections.
On June 20, 1983, James E.
W ells,
Jr.,
was summoned to the office of his supervisors for the purpose of being fired.
The termination was precipitated by problems Mr. Wells had in the performance of his duties, including destruction of company property and inability to interact favorably with other groups working at the site.
During the course of the interview, Mr.
Wells alledged his termination was precipitated by his raising quality concerns which was immediately denied by his supervisors.
The decision to terminate was rescinded following further discussion, and Mr. Wells was reinstated with a warning to improve his performance.
On August 4, 1983, Mr. Wells was relieved of all duties at the WCGS by supervisors of KG&E who felt that he had intentionally misrepresented background information concerning his education and prior work experience with Daniel International. Management officials taking part in the decision had a good faith belief that the misrepresentations wera material and brought into question the integrity and veracity of a person in the Quality organization.
Subsequent to his termination, Mr. Wells provided documents purporting to verify information which the Company felt had been misrepresented.
One document revealed that Mr. Wells in fact did not attend a college and did not in fact have 20 hours2.314815e-4 days <br />0.00556 hours <br />3.306878e-5 weeks <br />7.61e-6 months <br /> of credit in electronics.
The document showed that if Mr. Wells attended John C.
Calhoun State Community College he would receive 20 quarter hour credit equivalency applicable towards an associate degree in Missile and Munition Technology.
The second document was an unofficial photocopy of wage information for previous employment with Daniel Ser vices, Inc. of Houston, Texas.
The document did not verify past j
employment with Daniel International as was represented in the background information.
Because the information did not clear up the misrepresentation, but in fact confirmed that the original information was incorrect, the decision was made not to reinstate Mr. Wells to his former position.
I
-r--
.. ~,,
.,,--.,y.
v,.,,v...
-.,v- --
wr-.-.-
w,
-.,w.,_,.
-..w,-,,.-v.----w-r--vw..,en-m-__,m.--yu
F
- ~
KMLNRC 86-154 Paga 3 August 29, 1986 A charge of discrimination was filed with the Department of Labor by Mr.
- Wells, alleging that his dismissal was a result of reporting discrepancies and safety problems.
A lengthy factual record was developed during formal hearings on the matter by the Department of Labor.
While KG&E does not agree with the findings and conclusions reached by the Administrative Law Judge and later adopted by the Secretary of Labor, it accepts them as determinative of the issues in this case.
KG&E would point out that all concerns raised by Mr.
Wells were fully investig' ted in a timely fashion and corrective action taken where a
appropriate.
There is no charge that any of the concerns raised were ignored or refused.
Reason For The Violation, If Admitted:
At the time of the dismissal of Mr. Wells, KG&E management personnel had a good faith belief that he had intentionally misrepresented his credentials concerning education and pre vious employment.
The discovery of this information followed problems with Mr. Wells in the performance of his
- duties, including the deliberate destruction of Company property (a telephone), and interpersonal skill deficiencies in working with other disciplines on the site. In fact, Mr. Wells was initially dismissed on June 20, 1983, but was given a second chance and reinstated that same date by his immediate supervisors.
Due to the timing of the disciplinary actions and decisions affecting Mr.
Wells' ' employment, Wells stated that the actions were triggered by quality reports written by him.
This argument was accepted by the Department of Labor.
Despite the finding by the Department of Labor, it should be apparent that other legitimate reasons were present that required some management action regardless of the nature of Mr. Wells' quality inspection work.
The integrity of the quality program could be brought into question by employment of a perssn who has intentionally lied about his background information.
Thus, when faced with the problem, management acted in the best interest of the quality program.
Hindsight has shown that the problem might have been handled differently to avoid the appearance of discrimination, while still addressing the underlying problems with Mr.
Wells' background information.
Corrective Steps That Have Been Taken and the Results Achieved:
Meetings have been held with managers, supervisors, and employees on several occasions to discuss KG&E's position on discrimination.
An attorney, experienced in the area of Labor Relations, has come to the site and discussed discrimination with our supervisors and managers.
In 1984 the NRC Region IV Administrator (John Collins) met with employees at Wolf Creek to discuss discrimination and other issues on a general basis.
It has been made quite clear to all employees that KG&E will not tolerate discrimination against employees who identify quality concerns.
In 1984, KG&E established the Quality First program to encourage personnel to identify quality concerns without fear of discrimination or retaliation.
i KMLNRC 86-154 Page 4 August 29, 1986 This program allows individuals to identify and report, on a confidential
- basis, any concerna they may have regarding the quality of work or operations at Wolf Creek Generating Station.
All concerns identified to Quality First are investigated and resolved.
Although this program was not in place at the time Mr. Wells worked at Wolf Creek, all quality concerns which he identified were thoroughly followed up and completely resolved.
Since the time of Mr. Wells' dismissal, KG&B has developed a set of Human Resources procedures written specifically for the Nuclear Department. These procedures strictly prohibit discrimination or harassment of employees for any reason.
For example procedure HR-160, Revision 3,
states that
" Employees reporting such quality or safety deficiencies shall be protected from any form of discrimination, retaliation, intimidation or harassment"'
- Also, HR-165, Re vision 1 states that "The Nuclear Department shall not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or retaliation, actual or implied..
These Human Resources procedures also more clearly define expected performance and behavior criteria to minimize the potential for discrimination allegations.
Corrective Steps That Will Be Taken To Avoid Further Violations:
KG&E recognizes that 10 CPR 50.7 is not limited to discrimination involving dismissals.
The corrective steps discussed in " Corrective Steps That Have Been Taken and the Results Achie ved" were aimed at providing managers, supervisors, and all-employees with a better understanding of what constitutes discrimination and to re-emphasize KG&E's position against discrimination.
With this increased awareness, managers and supervisors will be better able to recognize any situation that may be considered discrimination.
Human Resources and Legal personnel knowledgable in labor relations and discrimination are available to, assist any manager or supervisor in evaluating potential discrimination situations.
Date When Full Compliance Will Be Achieved:
Full compliance has been achieved.
If you have any questions concerning this response, please contact me or Mr.
O. L. Maynard of my staff.
Yours very truly, 4U 1cuo
~
Glenn L. Koester gy-Vice President - Nuclear GLK:see cc: P0'Connor (2)
JCummins
e k
STATE OF KAESAS )
) SS CITY OF WICHITA )
s I, Kent R. Brown, of lawful age, being first duly sworn upon oath, do depose, state and affirm that I am group Vice President Technical Services of Kansas Gas and Electric Company, Wichita,
- Kansas, that I have signed the foregoing letter of transmittal for Glenn L.
- Koester, Vice President Nuclear of Kansas Gas and Electric Company, know the content thereof; and that all statements contained therein are true.
b By Mi k
Kent R. Brown Group Vice President-Technical Services 8
SUBSCRIBED and sworn to before me this 29 day of Aug., 1986.
s, is
. ///
l dtary Publi6
/
Expiration Date 9/10/89
- ,.i 5
1 4
m
-,