Order NOTICE OF CASE ASSIGNMENT AND FILING DEADLINES — 2026STA00066

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
COVINGTON, LA DISTRICT OFFICE
__________________________________
Issue Date: 09 October 2026
In the Matter of:
DON BREWER, III,
Complainant,
v.
FRONTLINE AG SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Respondent,
CASE NO.: 2026-STA-00066
OSHA NO.: 301074955
JOHN M. HERKE
Administrative Law Judge
NOTICE OF CASE ASSIGNMENT AND FILING DEADLINES
1. Case Assignment and Jurisdiction. This case was assigned on October 7, 2026, to
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John M. Herke of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of
Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) for a hearing and decision. This matter arises under the employee
protection provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (“STAA”), 49 U.S.C. §
31105, and the regulations promulgated at 29 C.F.R. Part 1978. Complainant is appealing a final
determination letter issued by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) on April 8, 2026. The OSHA determination letter dismissed Complainant’s
complaint. Complainant then appealed the determination.
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1978.107(b), a hearing must commence expeditiously, except upon a
showing of good cause or unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. This notice sets forth
requirements to ensure an expeditious hearing.
2. Party Identification and Notice of Appearance. This notice is directed to the parties and
representatives identified by the Secretary in the Report of Investigation (ROI) and other file
documents. Any error or omission regarding the proper parties and/or representatives should be
promptly identified. To the extent not already completed, attorneys and authorized representatives
representing any party shall file a written Notice of Appearance within five days of receiving this
order.1
3. OALJ Mediation Program. The U.S. DOL OALJ offers Alternative Dispute Resolution
programs that are available at no cost to the parties. The parties are encouraged to review the
1 See 29 C.F.F. § 18.22(a).

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information regarding the mediation services program available for whistleblower cases. Website
information can be found at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oalj/.
4. Initial Status Conference. An initial status conference date is set for Friday, November 6,
2026, at 9:00 a.m. (Central Time). Both parties must email my attorney-advisor, Thomas
Arceneaux, at Arceneaux.Stephen.T@dol.gov no later than Thursday, October 29, 2026 either
confirming their expected attendance or advising of a conflict and providing alternative dates for the
conference. A Microsoft Teams invitation for the conference will be emailed to the parties at a later
date.
5. Discovery and Initial Disclosures. The parties shall immediately commence discovery
exchange. Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 18.50(c)(1)(i) and (iv), within twenty-one days from the date of
this order, and without awaiting a formal discovery request, the parties shall exchange all documents
and information required by the rule that they have not previously provided to each other. All initial
disclosures must be made in writing, signed, and served on the opposing party, and the parties must
supplement their initial disclosures when required by 29 C.F.R. § 18.53(a). Initial disclosures are not
to be filed in the record. See 29 C.F.R. § 18.30(b)(1).
6. Chart of Alleged Protected Activities and Adverse Actions.
In lieu of a Pleading Complaint and a Pleading Response, the following procedures apply:
a. Complaint Chart Requirement. Within twenty-one days of this notice, Complainant
shall complete and file in the record a Complainant’s Chart of Alleged Protected Activities
and Adverse Actions (Complainant’s Chart) and serve copies upon Respondent.
Complainant’s chart shall serve as his “Pleading Complaint;” therefore, it should include
each alleged protected activity and each alleged adverse action that Complainant seeks to
present for determination.
b. Response Chart Requirement. Within twenty-one days of the filing of Complainant’s
Chart, Respondent shall file Respondent’s Chart of Responses to Alleged Protected
Activities and Adverse Actions (Respondent’s Chart) and serve copies upon Complainant.
Respondent’s chart shall serve as its “Pleading Response;” therefore, it should include
each response regarding an alleged protected activity and each response regarding an
alleged adverse action that Respondent seeks to present for determination.
c. Template With Instructions Provided. The charts described in section 6(a) and 6(b) above
contain incorporated directions for completion. The charts shall be filed in the record
according to the instructions set forth below in section 7 (Case Filing Process). If either
party wishes to obtain electronic copies of the charts to use them more efficiently, please
e-mail my paralegal Ms. Kasey Courtney at Courtney.Kasey.A@dol.gov.

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7. Case Filing Process. Parties shall submit all filings through the eFile/eServe System (EFS) at
efile.dol.gov/oalj.2 Submissions shall be made using portable document format (PDF) files. Parties
shall submit filings in compliance with 29 C.F.R. Part 18. Parties seeking to file documents in other
formats shall contact Ms. Courtney for direction.3
8. Rules of Procedure. The parties are specifically directed to the Rules of Practice and
Procedure for Administrative Hearings before the Office of Administrative Law Judges contained in
29 C.F.R. Part 18, Subparts A and B (“OALJ Rules”). These rules apply in this case unless they are
inconsistent with a rule of special application.4 These rules can be found at the following website:
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oalj/topics/libraries/LIBRULES.
The basic statutory provisions governing this case are set forth in the Act and implementing
regulations. The adjudication provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) are also
incorporated by reference.5 If a unique procedural issue in this matter is not specifically covered by
this order, the OALJ Rules or the Act, the parties may also cite to FED. R. CIV. P. 26, where
applicable.6
9. Filing Deadlines. Compliance with the filing deadlines in this and all other prehearing orders
will be determined by the date a document is received in EFS. Extensions of a filing deadline must
be requested in a written motion for relief.
So ORDERED at Covington, Louisiana, on October 9, 2026.
JOHN M. HERKE
Administrative Law Judge
2 More information on the EFS is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oalj/EFS. Only self-represented parties are
permitted to use the Covington District Office central filing inbox (OALJ-Covington@dol.gov). Additional exceptions
may be granted for good cause shown.
3 Do not submit filings by email or directly to individual staff unless specifically instructed to do so. All filings submitted
outside of EFS will be rejected and will not be made part of the case file unless the undersigned ALJ has permitted
submission by another method.
4 29 C.F.R. § 18.10.
5 See 5 U.S.C. § 554.
6 See 29 C.F.R. §§ 18.10, 18.12.