Exxon Whistleblower Reinstatement Case Meets Wary 3d Cir. (1)

A federal appeals court panel in Philadelphia expressed doubts that it has the authority to enforce a preliminary US Labor Department order that Exxon Mobil Corp. must reinstate two former whistleblowers.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit repeatedly stated during oral arguments Wednesday that the reinstatement order from the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration isn’t a final agency action that could be enforced by the courts while the underlying retaliation case proceeds before an administrative law judge.

Judges Kent A. Jordan, Peter J. Phipps, and Arianna J. Freeman all pushed back on ...