The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a trucking company in North Branford, Conn. to pay $60,000 to two former workers, plus legal fees.

In September 2012, a mechanic and a driver reported to the North Branford police and the state Department of Motor Vehicles that a truck in the fleet was unsafe.

Polumbo Trucking, owned by David Polumbo, terminated both workers within a month of the complaint, but the federal government’s investigation determined that their job losses were not retaliation.

In January 2013, Polumbo sued the two, saying their complaint was malicious.

The federal government required Polumbo to drop the lawsuit, pay each worker $30,000, and pay the lawyers they hired to defend them against the lawsuit. That’s because this kind of lawsuit against whistleblowers is illegal under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act.