The legislation was championed by the Reagan administration to address concerns about the surface transportation infrastructure (highways and bridges).

§ 31105) was enacted to encourage employee reporting of noncompliance with safety regulations governing commercial motor vehicles.

The longer a discharged employee remains unemployed, the more devastating are the consequences to his personal financial condition and prospects for reemployment.

Ensuring the eventual recovery of backpay may not alone provide sufficient protection to encourage reports of safety violations.

Accordingly, 405 incorporates additional protections, authorizing temporary reinstatement based on a preliminary finding of reasonable cause to believe that the employee has suffered a retaliatory discharge.

Under STAA, truck drivers who believe they have suffered an adverse employment action (such as discharge, demotion, discipline, or denial of advancement), have 180 days to file a simple written complaint with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brock v. Roadway Express, Inc., 481 U.S. 252, that due process requires that employers receive prereinstatement notice of the employee's allegations, notice of the substance of the relevant supporting evidence, an opportunity to submit a written response, and an opportunity to meet with the investigator and present statements from rebuttal witnesses.