The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) found reasonable cause to believe that Bechtel National violated the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA) by laying off Walt Ford in November 2011 after he raised worker health and safety concerns at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. DoL found that Ford “was scrutinized and treated more harshly than other employees” after he filed complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. DoL ordered Bechtel to pay Ford back pay, minus interim earnings, at a rate of $4,589 per month from November 18, 2011 to March 31, 2012, plus interest; $25,000 in compensatory damages for pain and suffering, including mental distress; and $7,070 in attorney’s fees. Bechtel was also ordered to expunge Ford’s employment records of any reference to the exercise of his rights under the ERA. Bechtel objected, but before the parties could resolve the matter, the presiding administrative law judge left his job. Rather than go through another administrative hearing, Ford filed a lawsuit in federal court that reportedly settled in 2019.