US Department of Labor investigation finds Denver IT services provider retaliated against executive who raised concerns about IRS violations

DENVER – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a Denver-based information technology services provider retaliated against an employee who raised concerns about the company’s failure to pay trust fund taxes to the IRS.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded that 303 Technologies Inc. violated the Taxpayer First Act, and OSHA ordered the company to reinstate the employee and pay more than $81,000 in back wages, plus 24.5 percent stock ownership in the company.

“OSHA enforces federal laws that protect employees who report possible wrongdoing from fear of retaliation and punishment,” explained OSHA Regional Administrator Jennifer S. Rous in Denver. “The Taxpayer First Act protects employees’ rights to report actual or potential tax-law violations or engage in other protected activities.”

The company and the former employee may file objections or request a hearing with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges within 30 days of receiving the agency’s order.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the Taxpayer First Act and more than 20 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various workplace safety and health, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, securities, tax, criminal antitrust and anti-money laundering laws. For more information on whistleblower protections, visit OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Programs webpage.

Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Labor does not release the names of employees involved in whistleblower complaints.