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Donn Meindertsma has represented clients in the energy industry for over 32 years. His clients include nuclear reactor licensees, fuel cycle licensees, licensee and DOE contractors, and DOE grant recipients, as well as individuals in investigatory interviews and enforcement proceedings. Donn is particularly well-known for his experience with regulatory compliance and employment matters unique to the industry. These matters include, for example, access authorization and security matters; fitness for duty and substance testing requirements and programs; behavioral observation requirements and
policies; referrals to employee assistance programs; employment qualification requirements and practices; harassment and retaliation contentions, Employee Concern Program procedures, practices, and investigation advice, and Safety Conscious Work Environment and Safety Culture initiatives. The following are representative of the services Donn and his team at Conner & Winters have
provided to industry employers: Retaliation and Litigation Defense
• Defense of numerous “nuclear whistleblower” claims before state courts, federal courts, and federal
agencies, including the Department of Labor, at both the trial and appellate levels, under Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act and under similar whistleblower protection laws;
• Defense of retaliation allegations under 10 CFR 50.7, including successfully obtaining “no retaliation” NRC findings and resolution of allegations through the NRC’s alternative dispute resolution process;
• Leader of the “Section 211 Group”—a consortium of reactor licensees interested in nuclear industry whistleblower developments—and primary author of the Whistleblower Case Digest while with his former law firm;
• Defense of DOE Part 708 retaliation claims and appeals;
• Defense of claims against federal scientific community/research grantees for
retaliation
under 41 U.S.C. § 4712, including defense of clients and witnesses in investigations by the DOE's Office of Inspector General. Security, Access Authorization, and Fitness for Duty (FFD)
• Advising clients on the application of DOE Part 708 requirements concerning deemed exports of classified information;
• Advising clients with respect to employee security clearance requirements;
• Advising clients on the interplay between access and FFD requirements and other federal labor and employment laws, including questions concerning whether access and FFD determinations are subject to labor arbitration; author of the
leading publication on this topic (If there is any Doubt: The Case against Arbitral Review of Access and Fitness for Duty Determinations in the Nuclear Power Industry, 2016); • Advising clients on FFD and substance abuse requirements, including counseling on abstinence programs and union/arbitration issues pertaining to access denial/termination;
• Working with licensee Human Resources staff on policies and issues arising in nuclear employment, including potential co-employment and joint employer liabilities.
Employee Concerns Programs (ECP)
• Development and enhancement of ECP policies and practices, including the
design of some of the first ECP procedures implemented in the nuclear industry in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s;
• Auditing of ECP programs, including review of investigative file adequacy, effectiveness of referrals (e.g., to Human Resources and contractors), compliance with procedures, industry best practices, and regulatory policy standards;
• Day-to-day counseling for ECP managers and representatives on program practices and strategies for investigations and concern resolution;
• Counseling clients on matters regarding Problem Inspection & Resolution (PI&R) expectations, including PI&R expectations for Corrective Action Programs and ECPs.
Enforcement and Regulatory Investigations
• Representing
licensees in NRC enforcement matters, including representation in alternative dispute resolution mediation established by the joint program between the NRC and Cornell University’s Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution;
• Representing employers (and, where appropriate, individuals) during investigations and interviews by the NRC Office of Investigation;
• Assisting clients in responding to NRC Requests for Information;
• Advocating for the industry in connection with NRC rulemaking and policy development relating to employment-related investigations, including filing of comments and oral advocacy before the NRC Task Force on Discrimination.
Independent Investigations
• Conducting independent investigations for clients
in response to ECP and other internal concerns, and investigating and preparing responses to NRC-referred allegations, such as allegations pertaining to worker qualification (e.g., ANSI) standards;
• Supporting and conducting investigations for clients relating to instances of alleged “deliberate misconduct” under 10 CFR 50.5 and similar regulations, including material false statements and retaliation allegations;
• Advising clients on and investigating potential “chilling effect” issues, including drafting responses to NRC-issued chilling effect letters;
• Assembling and leading teams for sitewide reviews and assessments of work environment issues, including change management implementation, morale problems, and other broad-scope
concerns.
Safety Culture and Safety Conscious Work Environment (SCWE)
• Nationally recognized advisor to multiple clients on Safety Culture and Safety Conscious Work Environment expectations; • Contributing commenter to NRC policy making on Safety Culture and SCWE matters;
• Initiated and led first nuclear industry-wide conference on nuclear Safety Culture in 2003;
• Author of Safety Culture: What Every Nuclear Worker Should Know, and The Nuclear Leader’s Guide to a Safety Conscious Work Environment, among the most widely distributed industry guides on these topics;
• 25 years of experience as a trainer for licensee and supplemental workers on SCWE expectations and NRC non-retaliation
requirements.
Industry and Legal Community Participation
• Retained by Nuclear Energy Institute as counsel to prepare appellate friend-of-court brief on behalf of the industry in Section 211 litigation;
• Presenter at a training conference for OSHA’s nationwide whistleblower investigation staff on employer perspectives on investigations; • Member of the American Bar Association and speaker on whistleblower legal developments at the 2013 ABA national annual conference;
• Member of and speaker for the National Association of Employee Concerns Professionals (NAECP), including charter affiliation as the organization’s legal counsel with forerunner association (Employee Concerns Task Group, Edison Electric Institute) and legal
contributor to initial ECP Developmental Guide (1993);
• Outside counsel for national energy-affiliated trade association headquartered in Washington DC.
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