Whirlpool Corp. v. Marshall

After a maintenance worker died falling through a weak overhead safety screen at Whirlpool's (defendant) plant, employees Deemer and Cornwell refused a follow-up assignment on the same old screen out of safety concerns and were reprimanded and sent home without pay; the Secretary of Labor (plaintiff) sued Whirlpool for violating a regulation protecting workers who walk off jobs believed to pose serious safety risks. The district court invalidated the regulation as inconsistent with the Act, and the Sixth Circuit reversed; Whirlpool appealed.

Whether the Occupational Safety and Health Act protects an employee's right to walk off the job when the employee reasonably believes the Act's normal enforcement mechanisms will not adequately protect against death or serious injury.