Feds order Texas trucking co. to rehire and pay truck driver fired for raising safety concerns

A Fort Worth-based trucking company must rehire and pay a truck driver who was terminated for raising safety concerns, federal officials say.

On January 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that Texas trucking company Balkan Express LLC must “reinstate and compensate a worker who was terminated after reporting safety concerns.”

Balkan Express was ordered by the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to pay the fired driver back wages, interest, compensatory, and punitive damages totaling more than $100,000.

Officials say that terminating the truck driver for commercial motor vehicle safety complaints was a violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA).

The identity of the truck driver was not released because the DOL does not release names in whistleblower cases.

The STAA protects workers from retaliation by employers for filing complaints about violation of a commercial motor vehicle safety or security regulation. The STAA also protects workers who refuse to operate a commercial vehicle that they believe to be unsafe or in violation of safety regulations.

You can learn more about the STAA’s whistleblower protections here.