Wrongful termination 2 weeks after filing OSHA complaint

EDIT: added more context below. I worked at a warehouse distribution center in Ohio for two years. The facility had serious safety issues — broken forklifts that management refused to repair, blocked emergency exits, and no proper ventilation in the chemical storage area. I reported these issues to my supervisor multiple times and nothing changed.

Three weeks ago, I filed a complaint with OSHA. An inspector came out about a week later and found multiple violations. Five days after the inspection, I was called into HR and terminated for "performance issues." In two years, I had never received a single written warning idk, my performance reviews were satisfactory, and I had no attendance issues.

The timing is obviously suspicious. Is this wrongful termination? What can I do?

This has all the hallmarks of unlawful retaliation, and you have a strong case. Let me walk through your legal protections:

Section 11(c) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. § 660(c)) prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who file OSHA complaints, testify in OSHA proceedings, or exercise any right under the Act. This includes termination, demotion, transfer, or any other adverse action.

The timeline here creates a strong inference of retaliation. In employment law, we call this temporal proximity — the closeness in time between the protected activity (your OSHA complaint) and the adverse action (your termination) is itself evidence of a retaliatory motive. Two weeks is extremely close and courts regularly find that sufficient to establish a prima facie case.

Additionally, the burden-shifting framework works in your favor:

• You establish a prima facie case of retaliation (protected activity + adverse action + temporal proximity + no prior performance issues)
• The employer must articulate a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason (they'll point to "performance issues")
• You then show that the stated reason is pretextual — and the absence of prior warnings, satisfactory performance reviews, and the suspicious timing all strongly suggest pretext

Action steps:

• File a Section 11(c) complaint with OSHA within 30 days of your termination. This is critical — the 30-day deadline is strict.
• File for unemployment immediately if you haven't already
• Preserve all evidence — emails, performance reviews, the OSHA complaint confirmation, any communications about safety issues, witness names of coworkers who knew about your complaints
• Consult with a wrongful termination attorney. You can find demand letter resources at Wrongful Termination Demand Letters

Remedies can include reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and in some cases punitive damages. Ohio also has its own whistleblower statute (ORC 4113.52) that may provide additional protections.

Tbh i'm a former OSHA compliance officer (now retired). A few things to add:

First, the fact that OSHA found actual violations during the inspection makes your case even stronger. It shows your complaint was substantive and legitimate, not frivolous. Courts look at this when evaluating retaliation claims.

Second, the "performance issues" excuse is the most common pretext employers use in retaliation cases. The lack of any prior documentation of performance problems is devastating to the employer's defense. In my experience employers who retaliate often scramble to create a paper trail after the fact — if they didn't have one before your OSHA complaint, that's a clear sign the stated reason is pretextual.

Third, don't wait on the 11(c) complaint. You have only 30 days and that deadline is very rarely extended. File it immediately even if you're still evaluating your options.

Thank you both so much. I filed the 11(c) complaint with OSHA today — that 30-day deadline had me worried so I didn't want to wait. I also filed for unemployment.

AttorneyDianeKeller — I have my last three annual performance reviews and they're all "meets expectations" or "exceeds expectations." I also have text messages to my supervisor from months ago complaining about the broken forklift. And two coworkers who are willing to confirm that I raised safety concerns repeatedly before filing with OSHA.

I'm going to consult with a local employment attorney this week. Is there a particular type of attorney I should look for — does this fall under "employment law" or something more specific?

Good — you've taken the right immediate steps. Look for an attorney who specializes in employment law, specifically wrongful termination and retaliation claims. Many employment attorneys handle whistleblower cases specifically. You can check the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) directory for Ohio.

The evidence you described is excellent — performance reviews showing satisfactory work, text messages documenting your safety concerns, and coworker witnesses. Forward those text messages to your personal phone or email and save screenshots. Ask your coworkers to write down what they remember while it's fresh — dates, conversations, who was present.

Many wrongful termination attorneys work on contingency for strong cases, and your case sounds strong. The combination of documented protected activity, the OSHA inspection findings, the short timeline, the pretextual reason, and the clean performance record — this is about as strong a retaliation case as you can build 🤷.

Was this a unionized workplace? If so, you may also have a grievance through your union. Even if it wasn't, I mention it because situations like this are exactly why unions exist.

Also — were other employees involved in the safety complaints or aware of the issues? If other workers were also raising concerns, this could potentially be concerted protected activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which gives you additional protections through the NLRB regardless of union status.