Kentucky Court Affirms AK Steel's Actions in Safety Case

June 11, 2001
The Franklin Circuit Court has ruled that AK Steel did not unlawfully discipline its employees.

The Franklin Circuit Court of the Commonwealth of Kentucky has affirmed the finding''s of the Review Commission for the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health cabinet that AK Steel did not unlawfully discipline employees following an incident that took place in February, 1998.

The case originated with a compaint filed in March, 1998 by Gail Riggs, the president of the local union that represented employees at AK Steel''s Ashland, Ky. coke operations. Riggs filed the complaint after union employees were disiplined for violating plant safety rules.

The employees claimed the company disiplined them in retaliation for reporting alleged safety violations by the company. That allegation led to a hearing in which the hearing officer deternimed that AK Steel has a comprehensive safety program that instructs employees to follow specific safety procedures.

In December, 1998, the review Commission''s hearing officer concluded that Riggs'' testimony was not credible and that no evidence was presented to support the claim of discriminatory disipline. The Kentucky Secretary of Labor then petitioned the review commission for appeal of the hearing officer''s dismissal of the citation.

The review commission concluded in February, 2000 that AK Steel acted appropriately with regard to disciplining the employees and dismissed the complaint. The state secretary of labor, who had originally recomended a fine of $30,000 against the company, appealed the decision to the Franklin Circuit Court, who eventually put an end to further appeals.

"We are pleased that this issue is finally resolved and that AK Steel has been completely exonerated," said Alan H. McCoy, vice president, public affairs. "It is unfortunate that the untrue accusations led to more than two years of legal proceedings and costs to the taxpayers of Kentucky."

AK Steels'' Midtown coke plant received the Max Edward safety award for the third time in four years from the American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute with a perfect OSHA recordable injury frequency of zero in 2000.

The company''s Ashland coke plant had only one recordable injury in 2000 resulting in an OSHA recordable injury frequency of 0.26, about 30 times better than the coke industry average.

by Melissa Martin

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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