WBH-23-0003 - In the Matter of Dalena Tripplet

On April 16, 2024, an Administrative Judge issued an initial agency decision (Decision) denying Dalena Tripplet's complaint (Complaint) against Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, LLC (HMIS) under the Department of Energy's Contractor Employee Protection Program and its governing regulations set forth at Part 708 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Part 708). The Complaint alleged that Ms. Tripplet made protected disclosures under Part 708 when she told her supervisor and a senior HMIS official that an HMIS-contracted instructor (Instructor) had subjected her to a hostile work environment and had substantially violated a law, rule, or regulation by using unapproved instructional materials in teaching a first aid class. Ms. Tripplet alleged that HMIS terminated her employment in retaliation for her alleged protected disclosures.

The Administrative Judge concluded that, based on Ms. Tripplet's failure to identify a law, rule, or regulation that the Instructor's allegedly harassing conduct violated, as well as the nature and frequency of the workplace conflict alleged by Ms. Tripplet, her alleged disclosure concerning a hostile work environment was not a protected disclosure under Part 708. As to the disclosure concerning the instructor's use of unapproved instructional materials, the Administrative Judge determined that no reasonable person would have believed that a law, rule, or regulation dictated the instructional materials to be used in the class or that the Instructor's deviation from the non ­governmental standards for course materials was a substantial one. As Ms. Tripplet failed to establish that she engaged in protected activity under Part 708, the Administrative Judge denied the Complaint. (OHA Case No. WBH-23-0003, Harmonick)