The plaintiffs, who are licensed merchant marine officers,1 brought this whistleblower action under 46 U.S.C. § 2114 against Showboat Marina Casino Partnership, Showboat, Inc., Showboat Indiana, Inc., Showboat Mardi Gras Casino and M/V Showboat (collectively "Showboat"), Riverboat Services, Inc. and Riverboat Services of Indiana, Inc. (collectively "Riverboat"), and Robert Heitmeier and Thomas Gourguechon in their individual capacities. See Pub.L. No. 98-557, § 13(a), 98 Stat. 2863 (1984) (current version at 46 U.S.C. § 2114 (2002)).2 The plaintiffs claim that they were discharged in retaliation for engaging in statutorily protected correspondence with the United States Coast Guard ("Coast Guard") about a change in hiring guidelines on the vessel on which they were employed, the M/V Showboat. After a bench trial on the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat and the individual defendants, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana entered judgment in favor of all but two plaintiffs and awarded back pay, expenses and punitive damages. Those defendants now appeal, contending that the district court erred in holding that the plaintiffs established the requisite causation between their correspondence with the Coast Guard and their subsequent terminations. These defendants also submit that the plaintiffs did not prove that they are entitled to whistleblower protection under § 2114: according to the defendants, the plaintiffs did not act in "good faith," did not make a "report[]" to the Coast Guard, and did not have a reasonable belief that a violation of safety laws and regulations had occurred at the time of the correspondence. Id. Further, the individual defendants contend that they are not subject to § 2114 liability because they do not qualify as "individual[s] in charge of a vessel." Id. The two plaintiffs who did not obtain relief3 cross-appeal the district court's ruling denying them relief. All ten plaintiffs appeal the denial of attorneys' fees. Finally, Riverboat appeals the district court's judgment granting partial summary judgment to Showboat. Riverboat contends that Showboat was required to obtain insurance for the plaintiffs' claims and, thus, it is entitled to indemnification from Showboat. For the reasons set forth in the following opinion, we affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the district court.

* BACKGROUND

This appeal involves the claims of ten4 licensed merchant marine officers, formerly employed as captains, chief engineers, assistant engineers or deck officers on the M/V Showboat, a large gaming vessel that carried passengers on excursions on Lake Michigan.5 They allege that they were terminated in retaliation for reporting the violation of safety regulations to the United States Coast Guard and that their terminations violate 46 U.S.C. § 2114(a).6 See § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. The plaintiffs filed suit in 1998 against Showboat, the registered owner of the M/V Showboat, and Riverboat, the operator and manager of the vessel. The plaintiffs also named two individual defendants: Robert Heitmeier, the President, member of the Board of Directors and sole shareholder of both Riverboat Services, Inc. and Riverboat Services of Indiana, Inc.; and Thomas Gourguechon, who during the events in this case was both the Director of Marine Operations for Riverboat and the Director of Project Management for Showboat.

The M/V Showboat, the ship on which the plaintiffs were employed, is one of the largest casino vessels currently operating in the United States; it weighs 2,803 gross tons, is 332-feet long and can carry up to 4,250 passengers and crew at a time. During the period at issue in this litigation, the M/V Showboat operated on a daily basis gambling excursions on Lake Michigan that departed from, and returned to, East Chicago, Indiana.

The vessel's operation is governed by a Marine Management Services Agreement (the "Agreement") between Riverboat and Showboat. See R.37, Ex.A. This Agreement gives Riverboat the "exclusive right and obligation to manage and operate the marine aspects of the [M/V Showboat]." Id. § 3.01. Specifically, Riverboat is responsible for ensuring that the vessel's operation complies with applicable state and federal laws, including United States Coast Guard regulations, see id.; employing and training the vessel's crew in a manner consistent with generally accepted standards of the riverboat gaming industry, see id. §§ 3.01, 3.02(I); monitoring the qualifications of the vessel's staff, as well as assuring that the maritime staff is properly licensed, see id. § 3.02(iv); and the hiring, firing, promotion and supervision of all executive and service employees, see id. § 3.04.1. In turn, the Agreement obligates Showboat to obtain insurance and to name Riverboat as the insured party. Section 5.01.1 specifies that Showboat should obtain insurance covering all "acts, omissions and injuries to persons or property" caused by Riverboat or its agents, in the amount of not less than five million dollars. See id. § 5.01.1. Section 5.01.01.1 then lists five types of insurance coverage required: worker's compensation insurance; comprehensive general liability insurance for accidents and property damage; full form protection and liability insurance on all vessels and floating equipment; hull and machinery insurance; and collision liability insurance for damage to vessels and floating objects. In addition, the Agreement mandates that Showboat obtain coverage for liabilities arising under the Jones Act. See id.

The operation of the M/V Showboat also is required to abide by federal statutes and regulations. In pertinent part, applicable Coast Guard regulations provide that a limited engineer license permits a chief or assistant engineer to "serve within any horsepower limitations on vessels of any gross tons on inland waters," but not on vessels of "more than 1600 gross tons in. . . Great Lakes service." 46 C.F.R. § 10.501(b); see also id. § 15.915(b)-(d). At 2,803 gross tons, the M/V Showboat falls into the latter category. Fearing that the Coast Guard under these regulations would require the M/V Showboat to hire exclusively engineers with unlimited licenses, on August 27, 1996, Mr. Heitmeier wrote to Lieutenant Commander Rich Brundrett at the Regional Examination Center of the United States Coast Guard in Toledo, Ohio. See R.81, Ex.6. He requested that the Coast Guard amend M/V Showboat's Certificate of Inspection ("COI")7 to permit the employment of engineers with limited engineer licenses. In support of his request, Mr. Heitmeier submitted that the M/V Showboat was similar in terms of installed machinery, route and length of voyage to vessels operated by Riverboat on rivers and inland waters; in short, he contended that, because of its limited use as a sailing vessel, the M/V Showboat should not be characterized as a vessel in Great Lakes service and should be permitted to employ engineers with limited licenses. Riverboat's request was granted. The Coast Guard issued the M/V Showboat's first COI in April 1997; it provided that "[a]n individual holding a license as chief engineer limited or assistant engineer limited may serve as chief engineer or assistant engineer respectively." R.34, Ex.1. Shortly thereafter, the COI was posted and the vessel was opened to the public.

Shortly after the amended COI was posted, the plaintiffs initiated contact with the Coast Guard. On August 11, 1997, a group of twelve officers, including six plaintiffs — Messrs. Gaffney, Goodridge, Palmer, Reilly, Horton and Doncet — sent a letter to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Robert E. Kramek. Mr. Gaffney authored this letter and obtained the signatures of the other officers. In the letter, the officers expressed concern that "the relaxation of licensing requirements for the engineers on the M/V Showboat... substantially reduces passenger safety by not requiring experienced personnel to crew the vessel." R.34, Ex.2. The plaintiffs concluded the letter by requesting information from the Coast Guard about the amended COI. Mr. Gaffney testified that this letter was sent to obtain clarification about licensing requirements because the COI did not specify "what [the change] actually meant." Tr.I at 113. The Coast Guard responded with two separate letters that, according to Mr. Gaffney, did not answer the plaintiffs' questions about the nature of the licensing relaxation but did provide necessary information about proper appeals procedures. Gaffney Dep., R.81, Ex.7 at 42.

A second letter was sent to the Coast Guard on October 3, 1997, this time signed only by Mr. Gaffney and addressed to Lieutenant Neil Shoemaker. R.34, Ex.3. In this letter, Mr. Gaffney expressed concern that two employees8 had been fired because of their correspondence with the Coast Guard about the relaxation of licensing requirements. In addition, Mr. Gaffney reiterated his concern that the licensing changes risked "a serious disaster," given the "shear [sic] number of people onboard" and the relationship between licensing and experience. Id. Mr. Gaffney also inquired about the "specific qualifications for limited engineers," including the number of years' experience required to obtain the license in question. Id.

On October 5, 1997, Mr. Gaffney sent follow-up correspondence to Lieutenant Shoemaker. See R.34, Ex.4. He reported that one of the assistant engineers with an unlimited license recently had been approved to sit for his limited license for a chief engineer position. Mr. Gaffney expressed concern that allowing "a person with so limited experience" to "sign[] on as Chief Engineer of this vessel is the reason why myself and my fellow officers wrote the initial letter to [Coast Guard] Commandant." Id.

The last letter to the Coast Guard, which is the focus of this appeal, is dated October 10, 1997. All of the plaintiffs except Mr. Horton and Mr. Doncet signed this letter, as did eight other individuals not parties to this suit. See R.34, Ex.5.9 In this letter, the plaintiffs requested a thirty-day extension of time to file an appeal challenging the relaxation of licensing requirements granted to the M/V Showboat. "Our request," the plaintiffs explained, "is based on the following reasons":

The lowering of licensing standards for engineering officers aboard the M/V Showboat occurred April 11th, 1997 .... It was not publicized until mid June, 1997 .... After some preliminary research into the lowered licensing requirements, we wrote the USCG Commandant in an effort to understand the exact reason for relaxing these standards.... As a group directly effected [sic] by this decision, we feel that we should have been extended the opportunity to have our thoughts, opinions and concerns heard . . . .

It is our contention that the change in licensing requirement for the engineers on the M/V Showboat Mardi Gras from Unlimited to Limited has served to potentially and substantially compromise safety standards aboard the vessel.

The safety requirements set by the United States Coast Guard are minimum requirements for safe operation of vessels, and the operative word here is minimum. Typically, vessel owners and managers conform only to the bare minimum requirements while viewing additional safety items as an inconvenience or extra cost. The request from Riverboat Services Incorporated (RSI) to lower the license requirement for the engineers is a prime example of this tenet as evidenced by their letter of request.... Approval of their request has effectively lowered required experience for engineers to a substandard level.

Id. at 1. The letter also described the training discrepancies between an engineer with a limited license and an engineer with an unlimited license. Further, it set forth the reasons why extensive experience on board a large vessel is an essential qualification of engineers navigating the M/V Showboat — the difficulty of maneuvering in shallow waters and around obstacles, the passenger capacity of the vessel and the dangers of wind gusting. Finally, the letter rebutted the claim that engineers with limited licenses generally have sufficient experience to serve on inland vessels such as the M/V Showboat.

In a letter dated October 31, 1997, Captain M.W. Brown, the Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection, denied the plaintiffs' appeal. See R.34, Ex.8. Captain Brown acknowledged receipt of the October 10th letter, which — although phrased as a request for an extension of time — he classified as an "appeal[]" of the "decision to permit the use of engineers with `limited' licenses aboard Great Lakes vessels not more than 4,000 gross tons."10 Id. After researching the issue raised in the "appeal," he disagreed that

the use of limited licensed engineers threatens the safety of M/V SHOWBOAT.

While the service requirements between unlimited and limited engineers are different, limited engineers are still required to have appropriate and relevant experience. The regulations currently permit the use of limited engineers for vessels of any gross tons on inland waters. The SHOWBOAT, due to its extremely short "close in" route, combined with its fairweather operating criteria, is analogous to operation on inland waters....

Accordingly, your appeal is denied, and the SHOWBOAT's existing Certificate of Inspection remains valid.

Id. The signatories to the October 10th letter appealed Captain Brown's decision to the Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District. See R.34, Ex.9. In the appeal, the plaintiffs expressed frustration with Captain Brown's failure to "differentiate between passenger vessels and cargo vessels." Id. "We feel," they wrote, "that the highest standards should be required, not wavered, on high capacity passenger vessels such as the M/V Showboat, which carries 4,250 passengers and crew." Id. This letter also expressed concern that the relaxation of licensing requirements was a growing trend. In that regard, it noted that the Coast Guard recently had issued an amended COI, endorsing the employment of engineers with limited engineering licenses for a vessel similar in size and function to the M/V Showboat.

Captain G.S. Cope, acting at the direction of the Ninth District Commander, granted the plaintiffs' appeal on December 19, 1997. See R.34, Ex.10. Captain Cope wrote:

In reviewing the record of this appeal, I found that the endorsement of the M/V SHOWBOAT's certification of inspection to allow limited engineers, did not comply with 46 CFR 15.915. That regulation authorizes individuals licensed as Chief Engineer (limited) or Assistant Engineer (limited) to serve as Chief or Assistant Engineer on vessels up to 1,600 Gross Tons upon the Great Lakes. Since the M/V SHOWBOAT is greater than 1,600 Gross Tons, an individual holding only a "limited" engineer license could not legally serve as the vessel's Chief or Assistant Engineer.

Id. The Captain directed the Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection at the Coast Guard to remove the endorsement allowing for employment of limited license engineers from the M/V Showboat's COI. An amended COI was sent to Riverboat on December 31, 1997. It was posted on the vessel on January 5, 1998.

It is undisputed that, by January 5, Mr. Gourguechon had become aware of the plaintiffs' correspondence with the Coast Guard. Mr. Gourguechon testified that, in late October, he found the plaintiffs' October 10th letter to the Coast Guard, which he characterized as merely a "job security letter," in the pilot house. Tr.IV at 47-48. Further, at the end of 1997, Mr. Gaffney had approached Mr. Gourguechon with his concerns about the relaxation of licensing requirements, as well as discussed with him developments in the plaintiffs' October 10th "appeal."11 Tr.I at 154-57. There is no evidence, however, that — before the complaint was filed on January 13, 1998, to which was attached the relevant Coast Guard correspondence — Mr. Gourguechon had read any of the previous letters or that Mr. Heitmeier had read any of the four letters at all. See Gourguechon Test., Tr.IV at 47; Heitmeier Dep., R.81, Ex.2 at 59-60.

On January 6, 1998, Mr. Gaffney received a letter from Mr. Gourguechon, notifying him that his employment as Chief Engineer on the M/V Showboat had been terminated, effective immediately. The letter identified the reasons for termination as:

Unauthorized communication and correspondence with regulatory bodies having jurisdiction over the operation of the vessel. Unauthorized correspondence and the regulators [sic] response has had a material adverse effect on the company's ability to efficiently run it's [sic] business.

R.81, Ex.15. Mr. Gaffney was offered no other explanation, either in writing or verbally, for his termination. According to Mr. Gaffney, upon receiving this letter, he told Mr. Gourguechon, "You can't fire me for that." Id., Ex.7 at 84.

The other nine plaintiffs were fired over the course of the next two-and-a-half weeks.12 Unlike Mr. Gaffney's termination letter, the letters received by these individuals did not contain reference to Coast Guard correspondence but, instead, gave no reason for their discharges. When confronted by these plaintiffs, Mr. Gourguechon denied that their discharges were in any way related to the Coast Guard correspondence.13

Mr. Gourguechon testified that, although he drafted and hand-delivered all but one of the plaintiffs' termination notices, he was acting at the direction of Mr. Heitmeier. See Tr.IV at 76-78. Specifically, according to both Mr. Gourguechon and Mr. Heitmeier, in late 1997, Mr. Gourguechon approached Mr. Heitmeier about problems he was having with the plaintiffs' employment on the M/V Showboat. Id. at 36-38. This conversation focused on the plaintiffs' potential connections to the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association ("MEBA"), the union responsible for picketing near the vessel that was sometimes violent and often disruptive. They also discussed the plaintiffs' involvement in defective rewiring of the M/V Showboat. A number of the plaintiffs had been assigned to assist in repositioning the gaming machines on the vessel; improper wiring later caused a circuit breaker to blow and was responsible for expensive damage to the vessel. Various Riverboat executives, including Mr. Gourguechon and Mr. Heitmeier, believed that the plaintiffs — in cooperation with MEBA — had sabotaged the ship, and they cite this incident as the cause of the plaintiffs' terminations. See Gourguechon Test., Tr.IV at 38-43; Heitmeier Dep., R.81, Ex.2 at 61-63.

According to the defense, after this conversation, Mr. Heitmeier approached Mr. Wallace, the President and CEO of Showboat's East Chicago, Indiana, operations. At this meeting, Mr. Heitmeier informed Mr. Wallace of the plaintiffs' connections to MEBA and the suspected acts of sabotage. Mr. Wallace directed Mr. Heitmeier to terminate the individuals involved. As Mr. Wallace later explained, "[i]f they had anything to do with the union, I wasn't ... interested in the continued aggravation they were causing." R.81, Ex.3 at 25, 28; see also Heitmeier Dep., id., Ex.2 at 62-63. Mr. Heitmeier in turn conveyed these instructions to Mr. Gourguechon, who drafted the termination notices.

On January 13, 1998, Messrs. Gaffney, Bell, Beardon, Anderson and Trundy filed suit against Riverboat, Showboat, and Mr. Heitmeier and Mr. Gourguechon in their individual capacities.14 The First Amended Complaint added Messrs. Goodridge, Horton and Doncet as plaintiffs; the Second Amended Complaint added Messrs. Palmer and Reilly. The plaintiffs asserted that their terminations violated 46 U.S.C. § 2114, the anti-retaliation statute protecting seamen who report the violation of safety regulations on board a vessel to the Coast Guard. They sought reinstatement with back pay, injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

On December 10, 1998, Showboat filed a cross-claim against the Riverboat defendants, contending that Riverboat was solely responsible for all employment matters on the M/V Showboat, including termination of the plaintiffs; therefore, Showboat claimed, Riverboat was required to indemnify Showboat for all litigation expenses and for the cost of settlement. See R.37. In turn, on March 1, 1999, Riverboat filed a counterclaim against Showboat, claiming that Showboat was obligated under the terms of their Agreement to insure or indemnify Riverboat for all "acts and omissions" causing injury, including violation of § 2114. See R.46. On June 30, 2000, Showboat moved for summary judgment against Riverboat on its cross-claim, as well as on Riverboat's counterclaim. See R.68. The district court granted this motion in part and denied it in part. See R.99. First, the court found that the Agreement did not obligate Showboat to insure against retaliatory discharge claims. See id. at 5-9. Specifically, it held that, although § 5.01.1 of the Agreement speaks broadly of insurance policies for Riverboat's "acts, omissions, and injuries," see R.37, Ex.A, this provision is modified by § 5.01.01, which specifies, and thereby limits, the requisite scope of coverage. Under § 5.01.01, Showboat was obligated to obtain insurance policies that included within their scope the following: worker's compensation insurance, comprehensive general liability insurance, full form protection and indemnity insurance on all vessels and floating equipment, hull and machinery insurance and collision liability insurance for damage to vessels. See R.99 at 9. However, it was not required to obtain "an additional, general `acts and omissions' policy which would have covered intentional acts," such as violation of § 2114. See id. (emphasis in original). Riverboat now appeals this decision.

The district court, however, denied Showboat's motion for summary judgment on its cross-claim against Riverboat. The court held that, although the Agreement provides that

Riverboat is solely responsible — as between Riverboat and Showboat — for discharging plaintiffs, this does not absolve Showboat as "owner ... of a vessel" of liability to plaintiffs since plaintiffs have also brought a direct § 2114 claim against Showboat for discrimination, and, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving plaintiffs, a directive that plaintiffs be fired could certainly arguably constitute a "manner" of discrimination. Because the court is not prepared on the briefs before it to enter judgment in favor of Showboat on plaintiffs' discrimination claim, Showboat's motion for summary judgment against plaintiffs is DENIED.

Id. at 9-10 (internal citation omitted) (alteration in original).

Showboat has not appealed the district court's denial of summary judgment. Because the parties never sought resolution of the factual issues implicating the disposition of this cross-claim, Showboat's cross-claim against Riverboat is still pending in the district court.

In August 2001, the plaintiffs reached a settlement with Showboat in the form of a loan receipt agreement.15 Also in August, the district court, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21, severed the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat from the plaintiffs' claims against the other defendants, in part because Showboat had not consented to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge. See R.168. On December 13, 2004, the district court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat with prejudice. See R.209.

After the district court denied Riverboat's motion for summary judgment, the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat were scheduled for a bench trial before a magistrate judge. The trial was held from August 19 to August 22, 2002. All ten plaintiffs testified, as did Mr. Gourguechon. In addition, the defense offered into evidence the deposition testimony of Mr. Heitmeier.

At trial, the defense argued that the plaintiffs were terminated not because of their correspondence with the Coast Guard, but because of their involvement in disruptive union activity on and near the vessel. According to the defense, although Mr. Gourguechon knew of the plaintiffs' letters to the Coast Guard prior to the initiation of the lawsuit, he viewed the letters as a benign job preservation effort, which did not threaten Riverboat's operations.

In addition, the defense submitted that the plaintiffs were not entitled to § 2114's whistleblower protections. It viewed this statutory protection as narrowly tailored to protect seamen who make a formal complaint to the Coast Guard by reporting an actual violation of safety regulations caused by the captain or master of the vessel and who believe that this violation poses a significant safety hazard. According to the defense, the plaintiffs did not fulfill these requirements because: (a) they subjectively did not believe that the employment of limited license engineers would impair the safety of the vessel; (b) the plaintiffs' belief that Riverboat had committed a violation of safety regulations was unreasonable, given that Riverboat had yet to employ an engineer with a limited license; (c) the plaintiffs did not file a formal complaint with the Coast Guard; and (d) they were not discriminated against by a "master[] or individual in charge of a vessel." § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863.

At the conclusion of the bench trial, each party submitted post-trial briefs. Subsequently, the district court entered an order finding for all but two of the plaintiffs, Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton. The district court first concluded that eight of the ten plaintiffs, those who had signed the October 10th letter, had established a causal link between their correspondence with the Coast Guard and their subsequent terminations. Although the court recognized that Riverboat also was concerned with disruptive union activity on and near the vessel, it held that the activity protected by § 2114 need not be the "sole cause of the discharge." R.191 at 24, 27. Instead, relying on both Jones Act and civil rights case law, see, e.g., Smith v. Atlas OffShore Boat Serv., Inc., 653 F.2d 1057, 1063 (5th Cir.1981), the court held that the seamen only must "affirmatively establish that the employer's decision was motivated in substantial part" by the plaintiffs' protected activities. R.191 at 24 (internal quotation marks omitted).

The district court concluded that Riverboat's decision to terminate the plaintiffs was motivated in substantial part by their correspondence with the Coast Guard. In support, the court cited four pieces of evidence: (1) that Mr. Gaffney's termination letter explicitly cited the communication with the Coast Guard as the cause of termination; (2) that the other plaintiffs were "fired in rapid succession and only days after the Coast Guard informed [Riverboat] that it was rescinding the COI limited endorsement"; (3) that the defendants' justifications for the terminations changed "at each stage of the proceedings"; and (4) that disruptive union activity or sabotage was not cited when the terminations occurred or at the NLRB proceedings as a reason for the plaintiffs' discharges. Id. at 27-29. In light of these findings, the district court concluded that there existed both direct and circumstantial evidence that the plaintiffs were terminated because of their report to the Coast Guard.

The court also concluded that the eight prevailing plaintiffs had fulfilled the legal requirements of § 2114. The October 10th letter was a "report," rather than merely a request for information, and thus was entitled to protection under § 2114. Id. at 20. The plaintiffs acted in "good faith" in reporting the violation, which the district court defined as the absence of "an improper purpose." Id. at 22. This requirement was satisfied because each plaintiff "generally believed that the lowering of the requirements created a safety hazard onboard the vessel." Id. at 2. Mr. Heitmeier and Mr. Gourguechon were both "individuals in charge of a vessel," defined by the district court as a person with responsibility for "hir[ing] and fir[ing] personnel" and for "day-to-day operations of the vessel." Id. at 29. Consequently, both defendants could be held liable in their individual capacities for the illegal discharges. And, although Riverboat had not yet hired an engineer with a limited license at the time that the plaintiffs' letters were written, and therefore had not yet committed a violation of safety laws or regulations, the "statute does not specifically state that the alleged safety violation must have been committed by the vessel owner rather than a third party." Id. at 16. In fact, according to the court, "it would be unreasonable to hold that the reporting of a perceived violation committed by a third party, like the Coast Guard itself, does not fall within the ambit of the statute," given that its purpose is "to promote safety and to remedy unsafe conditions on a vessel." Id. Thus, the Coast Guard, in authorizing the employment of engineers with limited licenses in violation of 46 C.F.R. §§ 10.501 and 15.915, committed a regulatory violation cognizable under § 2114. Id. at 22-23.

Nevertheless, because Mr. Horton and Mr. Doncet were not signatories to the October 10th letter and because there was no evidence that the August letter they signed was a "report," the court determined that they had not met their burden of proving causation between activity protected by § 2114 and their subsequent terminations. Id. at 21.

The district court awarded the eight prevailing plaintiffs back pay, expenses and punitive damages.16 It concluded that all three remedies were authorized both by § 2114, which makes available any "appropriate relief," id. at 33-34, and by general maritime law, see id. at 37-39. The court, however, rejected the plaintiffs' request for attorneys' fees, concluding that, as a general matter, fees are available only when explicitly authorized by statute. See id. at 42-43.

After the district court denied Riverboat's post-trial motion to set aside the judgment, Riverboat timely appealed. The plaintiffs subsequently filed a timely notice of cross-appeal, challenging the district court's judgment as it relates to Mr. Horton and Mr. Doncet, as well as the denial of the plaintiffs' request for attorneys' fees.

We first must resolve the question of whether the district court's decision constituted a final judgment — a prerequisite to exercising jurisdiction over this appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Showboat contends that, as of October 21, 2004, the date that Riverboat filed its notice of appeal, there were two issues still pending in the district court that deprived its judgment of finality. First, the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat had been settled and severed from the proceedings between the plaintiffs and Riverboat, but not yet dismissed. Second, Showboat's cross-claim against Riverboat, alleging that Riverboat was exclusively responsible for all employment matters on the M/V Showboat and seeking reimbursement for the costs of settlement with the plaintiffs, also severed from the case now before us, has not yet been dismissed by the district court.

Upon careful examination of the record, we are confident that the pendency of these two matters does not deprive us of jurisdiction to review the judgment of the district court with respect to the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat and Riverboat's counterclaim against Showboat for indemnification.

On August 13, 2002, the district court severed the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat from the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21. See R.168. At the same time, the district court also severed Showboat's cross-claim against Riverboat from the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat. Id.

As a general matter, Rule 21 severance creates two discrete, independent actions, which then proceed as separate suits for the purpose of finality and appealability. We first adopted this rule in Hebel v. Ebersole, 543 F.2d 14 (7th Cir.1976), when we held that, because the claims resolved by the district court and those remaining in that court had been severed pursuant to Rule 21, that court's judgment was "final and properly appealable." Id. at 17. This rule enjoys continued vitality. See Rice v. Sunrise Express, Inc., 209 F.3d 1008, 1014 n. 8 (7th Cir.2000) ("If the district court severed [the claims against the successor corporation] under Rule 21, then it created two separate actions, each capable of reaching final judgment and being appealed.").17

The district court clearly and unambiguously classified its severance order as one "pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21." R.168 at 1, 7 (holding that, because they are "distinct and separate," it had "broad discretion ... under Rule 21" to sever the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat from what remained of the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat). Nevertheless, because "the district court cannot by this characterization of its order create a severance under Rule 21 where one did not exist before," United States v. O'Neil, 709 F.2d 361, 368 (5th Cir.1983), we necessarily must examine whether the district court erred in classifying its severance order as a Rule 21 order rather than a severance under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(b).

The distinction between the two rules is jurisdictionally significant: "A separate trial order under Rule 42(b) is interlocutory and non-appealable." Reinholdson v. Minnesota, 346 F.3d 847, 850 (8th Cir.2003). By contrast, "[s]everance under Rule 21 creates two separate actions or suits where previously there was but one. Where a single claim is severed out of a suit, it proceeds as a discrete, independent action, and a court may render a final, appealable judgment in either one of the resulting two actions notwithstanding the continued existence of unresolved claims in the other." O'Neil, 709 F.2d at 368.18 We review the district court's decision to sever the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat from their claims against Riverboat under Rule 21, rather than under Rule 42(b), for abuse of discretion. See Rice, 209 F.3d at 1016 ("It is within the district court's broad discretion whether to sever a claim under Rule 21."); Hebel, 543 F.2d at 17.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in severing the plaintiffs' claims under Rule 21 rather than under Rule 42(b). We have held previously that a district court may sever claims under Rule 21, creating two separate proceedings, so long as the two claims are "discrete and separate." Rice, 209 F.3d at 1016. In other words, one claim must be capable of resolution despite the outcome of the other claim. Id. By contrast, bifurcation under Rule 42(b) is appropriate where claims are factually interlinked, such that a separate trial may be appropriate, but final resolution of one claim affects the resolution of the other. See, e.g., Reinholdson, 346 F.3d at 850 (holding that, because the "trials of [the] individual claims may expose issues of systemic violation that would cause the district court to reconsider its decision to dismiss plaintiffs' claims against the State defendants in their entirety," severance under Rule 21 was inappropriate; instead construing the district court's order as an order for separate trials under Rule 42(b), such that the individual claims may not be appealed until "a final judgment has been rendered in the entire action").

In Rice v. Sunrise Express, 209 F.3d at 1016, we addressed when Rule 21 severance constitutes an abuse of discretion. There, the plaintiff sued Sunrise Express, Inc. for violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act. At a pre-trial conference, the district court raised the concern that Gainey Corporation might be liable as a successor corporation to or as a joint employee of Sunrise. The parties stipulated that Gainey was not the successor corporation and the case proceeded to trial before a magistrate judge. On appeal, Sunrise contended that the order below was not final because Gainey had not consented to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge. We held that the district court, as indicated by a nunc pro tunc order and acting pursuant to Rule 21, previously had severed Gainey from the proceedings. We further found that severing Gainey under Rule 21, as opposed to under the bifurcation procedures set forth in Rule 42(b), did not constitute an abuse of discretion:

As long as there is a discrete and separate claim, the district court may exercise its discretion and sever it. Here, the district court effectively took Gainey, and the separately pled claim for successor liability against Gainey, out of the suit.... Because Gainey did not face primary liability, and, in all likelihood, no liability at all, its presence was not necessary, and, in the view of the district court, its removal significantly simplified the case.

Id.

The same is true here as well. At the time that the district court issued its severance order, the "Showboat defendants [had] indicated to the court that all of the plaintiffs' claims against them ha[d] been settled." R.168 at 2. Showboat's only remaining claim was its indemnification claim against Riverboat. This claim rests on section 3 of Showboat's agreement with Riverboat and claims that Riverboat had the "sole authority" to terminate the plaintiffs. R.37 at 6. If so, Showboat contends, it had no responsibility for the plaintiffs' discharges. By contrast, after severance, the present case involved only the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat and Riverboat's claim for indemnification against Showboat. Notably, Riverboat's indemnification claim rests on the insurance clause in section 5 of the Agreement and is completely independent, both theoretically and practically, of Showboat's claim against Riverboat.

The issues raised by Showboat's severed cross-claim are also "discrete and separate," Rice, 209 F.3d at 1016, of the claims raised by the plaintiffs against Riverboat. The plaintiffs' claims require an analysis of the legal requirements of § 2114, including whether Riverboat officials who were "individual[s] in charge of [the] vessel," § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863, were motivated by a retaliatory animus in terminating the plaintiffs. Showboat's claim, by contrast, mandates an analysis of the contractual relationship between Showboat and Riverboat and of whether the actions of Showboat, as an "owner" of the vessel, id., constitute a "manner of discrimination," rendering indemnification improper, R.99 at 9. While the facts underlying these claims overlap, the claims are independent of one another. Riverboat's liability is unaffected by whether Showboat also was involved in the decision to discharge the plaintiffs; even if Mr. Wallace of Showboat gave a directive to terminate the plaintiffs or otherwise affected the termination decision, Mr. Gourguechon of Riverboat also is alleged to have played (and did play) a key role in that decision, making Riverboat liable for retaliatory discharge. Similarly, Showboat could be held liable as an "owner" of the vessel absent a finding that the "individual[s] in charge of [the] vessel" retaliated against the plaintiffs. § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. Because the issues raised by Showboat's claim against Riverboat and those raised by the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat are easily separable for analysis, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the severance would simplify the proceedings.

In short, while the overall financial exposure of Riverboat or Showboat will be affected by the final outcome of both actions, the claims in each action are clearly independent of each other. See Rice, 209 F.3d at 1016 (holding the indemnification claims to be severable under Rule 21 from the primary liability inquiry). The validity of the claims before us does not depend, as a matter of law, on the outcome of the severed claims.

Therefore, by virtue of its Rule 21 order, the district court, in the exercise of its sound discretion, initiated two separate proceedings: (1) the plaintiffs' suit against Riverboat, from which Riverboat's counterclaim against Showboat flows; and (2) the plaintiffs' suit against Showboat, from which Showboat's cross-claim against Riverboat arises. Post-severance, these suits are independent for purposes of appellate jurisdiction. As a result, the plaintiffs' severed claims against Riverboat reached "final decision[]," 28 U.S.C. § 1291, vesting jurisdiction in this court without regard to the disposition of the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat. The same is true of the relationship between the current appeal and Showboat's cross-claim against Riverboat. While the cross-claim is still pending in the district court, it has no impact on our jurisdiction under § 1291: Because the cross-claim logically stems from the plaintiffs' claims against Showboat, rather than from the plaintiffs' claims against Riverboat, and because these two sets of claims previously were severed, Riverboat's present appeal and the resolution of Showboat's cross-claim can be "proceeded with separately." Fed. R.Civ.P. 21.

A. Statutory Protection Under 46 U.S.C. § 2114

At the time of the events in this case, 46 U.S.C. § 2114(a) provided that:

An owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, master, or individual in charge of a vessel may not discharge or in any manner discriminate against a seaman because the seaman in good faith has reported or is about to report to the Coast Guard that the seaman believes that a violation of this subtitle, or a regulation issued under this subtitle, has occurred.

§ 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863.19 The statute authorizes a seaman to bring an action in an "appropriate [United States] District Court" and to seek reinstatement with back pay, as well as "any other appropriate relief." § 13(b), 98 Stat. at 2864.

Section 2114 is intended to facilitate Coast Guard enforcement of maritime regulations by ensuring that the Coast Guard is aware of potential safety violations that could endanger vessels, their passengers and their crew. The statute accomplishes this goal by guaranteeing that, when seamen provide information of dangerous situations to the Coast Guard, they will be free from the "debilitating threat of employment reprisals for publicly asserting company violations" of maritime statutes or regulations. Passaic Valley Sewerage Comm'rs v. United States Dep't of Labor, 992 F.2d 474, 478 (3d Cir.1993) (discussing a similar retaliatory discharge provision in the Clean Water Act).

We must decide whether the plaintiffs' correspondence with the Coast Guard qualifies for protection under § 2114 and, if so, whether the plaintiffs were terminated in retaliation for this protected activity. Riverboat submits that the district court erred in concluding that the plaintiffs' correspondence constituted a "report" of a safety violation and in holding that the plaintiffs established that they acted in "good faith" in corresponding with the Coast Guard. We shall address each of these contentions.

1. Whether the Plaintiffs' Correspondence is Protected by the Statute

Riverboat contends that the plaintiffs' correspondence with the Coast Guard is not entitled to statutory protection under § 2114 because it did not constitute a "report." In support of this contention, Riverboat relies upon Garrie v. James L. Gray, Inc., 912 F.2d 808 (5th Cir.1990). In its view, Garrie stands for the proposition that § 2114 requires a formal complaint be made to the Coast Guard. The district court did not accept this argument. First, it noted that, although the plaintiffs' October 10th letter did not "use[] the catch-word `report,'" "it is hard to imagine that Congress would have intended for such specificity," given that "the statute itself does not prescribe the manner in which such a report must be made." R.191 at 21. The district court concluded that the October 10th letter to the Coast Guard satisfied this requirement. In that letter, the plaintiffs did not merely seek information. Rather, they made a specific complaint "about the limited endorsement on the COI and sought its removal: they reported what they believed was a violation of a safety law." Id.

Whether a particular form of communication qualifies as a "report" under § 2114 is a question of law that we review de novo. See Olson v. Risk Mgmt. Alternatives, Inc., 366 F.3d 509, 511 (7th Cir.2004) (holding that we review issues of statutory interpretation de novo). As always, when approaching a question of statutory interpretation, "we begin with the plain wording of the relevant statutory provision[]." United States v. Vitrano, 405 F.3d 506, 509 (7th Cir.2005).

When read in isolation, the term "report" arguably could have more than one meaning.20 However, we do not read a word or words of a statute in isolation; rather, we read them in the context in which they appear in the provision. When read in its entirety, the purpose of § 2114 is quite clear. Its import is to ensure that the United States Coast Guard receives accurate and timely information about the violation of safety regulations so that it in turn may fulfill its statutory obligations to keep vessels and those who voyage in them safe and to keep the lanes of maritime transportation free from hazards and impediments. From the Coast Guard's perspective, being "always prepared"21 requires timely and accurate information. In this context, we cannot attribute to Congress the intent to give the term "report" a narrow or formal meaning. Seamen are not professional report writers; they staff ships and have the skills necessary to their appointed role on the crew and to ensure the vessel's safe and efficient passage. The obvious point of the term "report" in § 2114, plainly and fairly read, is to require that the crew member's message to the Coast Guard addresses a safety violation and contains sufficient detail to apprise the Coast Guard of the nature of the alleged violation. To require any further formality would narrow the statute in a manner that Congress clearly avoided, and, in the process, would frustrate the clear purpose of the provision.

We note that our interpretation of the statutory language comports with the legislative history of the provision. Section 2114 was intended as a response to the Fifth Circuit's decision in Donovan v. Texaco, Inc., 720 F.2d 825 (5th Cir.1983). See S.Rep. No. 98-454, at 12 (1984), as reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4831, 4842. Donovan, which was decided before seamen were covered by a specific retaliatory discharge provision, involved an engineering officer who corresponded with the Coast Guard in a manner similar to the plaintiffs in this case. He placed a phone call to the Coast Guard to complain about the condition of certain generating equipment on the vessel; after he was demoted, and later terminated, he filed suit under the Occupational Safety and Health Act ("OSHA"), claiming that his discharge was motivated by retaliatory animus. The Fifth Circuit held that OSHA's prohibition against retaliatory discharge of a complaining employee does not apply to seamen. Donovan, 720 F.2d at 828-29. Congress signaled its disagreement with the result in Donovan by enacting § 2114. It made clear that, although OSHA does not forbid retaliation against seamen, termination for corresponding with the Coast Guard also should be protected by statute. Notably, Congress took this action even though the Donovan plaintiff never memorialized his complaint in a formal written statement. This history — coupled with Congress' decision not to define "report" in the statute or in the course of discussing Donovan in the relevant legislative history — supports the conclusion that § 2114 does not require a formal complaint, or even a written statement, as a prerequisite to statutory whistleblower protection.22

This conclusion is bolstered by the holding of the only other federal appellate case to address the requirements of § 2114. In Garrie, 912 F.2d 808, the plaintiff had placed a phone call to the Coast Guard to discuss his employer's violation of a regulation setting maximum working hours for officers on the vessel. The plaintiff identified himself, but not his employer; he never indicated to the Coast Guard that he wished to file a complaint; and he testified that his main purpose in calling was to "get information about running times" and to "verify his understanding of the applicable rules," rather than to request that the Coast Guard take any particular action. Id. at 812 (internal quotation marks omitted). The Fifth Circuit concluded that, because the plaintiff "did [not] reveal the name of his employer or the vessel upon which he was employed — information without which the Coast Guard could not investigate or prosecute a violation" — the communication could not be considered a "report." Id. Although Riverboat relies on this case as establishing that § 2114 requires a formal complaint be made by the seaman, we instead believe that Garrie held simply that, had sufficient information been conveyed to the Coast Guard, such as the name of the seaman's vessel, his employer and the nature of the safety violation, the communication would have been within the ambit of the statute's protection despite the absence of a formal complaint. So long as the correspondence makes clear that the seaman is reporting a specific regulatory violation with respect to a vessel, the statute protects the reporting crew member.

Therefore, the plaintiffs' October 10th letter clearly qualifies as a "report": It identified the company responsible for the alleged regulatory violation, the vessel in question, the plaintiffs' employer, as well as the Coast Guard department that had granted the amended COI. In sum, the letter put the Coast Guard on notice that, in the view of the crew members, the ship was being operated in derogation of applicable regulations. This communication was, in both purpose and effect, just the sort of communication protected by the statute.23

Riverboat further contends that the plaintiffs did not have a "good faith" belief that a violation of safety regulations had occurred when they contacted the Coast Guard, but instead were acting in their own self-interest, primarily motivated by job and wage preservation. The district court rejected this contention; it made factual findings that the plaintiffs genuinely believed that the relaxation of licensing requirements on board the M/V Showboat threatened the safety of the vessel and its passengers. "Each of the plaintiffs," the district court explained, "testified that his main concern regarding the COI was that the vessel would be unsafe if limited license engineers were allowed to do the work of unlimited license engineers." R.191 at 8. And, although some of the plaintiffs admitted that they "never told the Captain of the vessel not to take the ship out because it was unsafe," id., the district court concluded that these witnesses were credible with respect to their good faith belief, id. at 22.

A district court's findings of fact made after a full bench trial are entitled to great deference and shall not be set aside unless they are clearly erroneous. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a); see also Levenstein v. Salafsky, 414 F.3d 767, 773 (7th Cir. 2005) (noting that this is a "highly deferential standard"). "A finding of fact is clearly erroneous only when the reviewing court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed." Carnes Co. v. Stone Creek Mech., Inc., 412 F.3d 845, 847 (7th Cir. 2005). "If there are two permissible views of the evidence, the trial court's choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous." Id. This rule holds special force in the context of a district court's assessment of a witness' credibility; "we have stated that a trial court's credibility determination can virtually never amount to clear error." Id. at 848 (internal quotation marks omitted).

The record does not justify a conclusion that the district court's factual findings about the plaintiffs' good faith belief are clearly erroneous. The district court heard first-hand the plaintiffs' testimony and assessed the demeanor of those witnesses. After carefully examining the other evidence in the case, the court concluded that, when making their report to the Coast Guard, the plaintiffs did not have an ulterior motive but instead believed that the relaxation of licensing requirements threatened the safety of the vessel and its passengers. The record contains testimony that supports the conclusion of the district court.24 We therefore cannot hold that the district court clearly erred in finding that the plaintiffs honestly believed that the change in licensing requirements for the staff of the M/V Showboat was in violation of governing safety regulations.

Riverboat responds that the plaintiffs could not have "reasonabl[y]" believed that the employment of engineers with limited licenses posed a "safety issue." Appellants' Br. at 29. However, § 2114 does not require that a seaman believe that there is a "safety hazard" on board a vessel; rather, it requires that the "seamen believe[] that a violation of [U.S. Code Title 46, subtitle II or Coast Guard regulations issued under that subtitle] has occurred." § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. In this case, the plaintiffs reasonably and in good faith believed that the Coast Guard's approval of the M/V Showboat's future employment of unlicensed chief and assistant engineers constituted a "violation of . . . a [Coast Guard] regulation . . . ." § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. Coast Guard regulations provide that a chief or assistant engineer with a limited license is permitted to "serve within any horsepower limitations on vessels of any gross tons on inland waters," but not on a vessel of "more than 1600 gross tons in ocean, near coastal or Great Lakes service." 46 C.F.R. § 10.501(b); see also 46 C.F.R. § 15.915. Although, as a general matter, the Coast Guard has discretion to "vary the application of inspection standards based on the intended operation of the vessel," Smith v. United States Coast Guard, 220 F. Supp. 2d 275, 282 (S.D.N.Y.2002) (discussing 46 C.F.R. § 176.800(b)), the Coast Guard is bound by a regulation that specifically restricts the exercise of this discretion. See Frizelle v. Slater, 111 F.3d 172, 177 (D.C.Cir.1997) ("The Coast Guard, like the military departments and agencies in general, is bound to follow its own regulations."). In this case, 46 C.F.R. §§ 10.501 and 15.915 clearly set forth the conditions under which a chief or assistant engineer with a limited license may serve on a vessel, and by contrast, the conditions under which a limited licensed engineer may not serve. In permitting the employment of chief and assistant engineers with limited licenses on board the M/V Show-boat —a vessel over 1,600 gross tons and in Great Lakes service—the Coast Guard failed to follow these regulations, and acted beyond the scope of its authority. Even if this was not true, the plaintiffs were reasonable in believing that, in issuing the M/V Showboat's COI, the Coast Guard acted contrary to the applicable regulations.25 Therefore, the plaintiffs reporting this violation are entitled to whistleblower protection under § 2114.26

Riverboat, however, responds that the reported violation of a safety regulation must be committed by the employer, rather than by the Coast Guard. Moreover, Riverboat submits that, at the time the plaintiffs' letters were sent to the Coast Guard, neither Showboat nor Riverboat had yet hired an engineer with a limited license, and therefore, they were technically in compliance with their COI, as well as with Coast Guard regulations. See 46 C.F.R. §§ 10.501, 15.915. Consequently, according to Riverboat, the plaintiffs "as a matter of law" could not have believed in good faith that a violation of statute or regulation had occurred. Appellants' Br. at 28. By contrast, the plaintiffs submit that § 2114 does not limit its protection to a report of a safety violation committed by their employer; instead, the statute encompasses the report of a violation of safety regulations committed by less senior officers of the Coast Guard. The district court resolved this dispute in favor of the plaintiffs. According to the court, less senior Coast Guard authorities committed a "violation" cognizable under § 2114 when they issued the amended COI under circumstances in which departure from governing regulations was not compatible with the safety of the vessel. Therefore, in reporting this violation, the plaintiffs fell within the ambit of § 2114's protections.

Here, we must ask whether § 2114 protects a seaman who reports a violation committed by a third party such as the Coast Guard upon application of the employer. This is a question of statutory interpretation that we review de novo. See Schmude v. Sheahan, 420 F.3d 645, 650 (7th Cir. 2005). As we have noted earlier, when interpreting a statute, we must begin with the plain wording of the provision.

We hold that the language of the statute makes clear that the reporting of such a violation is covered. Section 2114 provides that a seaman is entitled to protection if he reports that he "believes that a violation of this subtitle, or a regulation issued under this subtitle, has occurred." § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. By employing passive language and by not specifying whose safety violation must have occurred for a seaman to receive protection under the statute, the statutory language evinces a deliberate choice on Congress' part to protect a seaman who reports a violation by either an employer or a non-employer.27

The purpose of § 2114 further supports reading its plain language to protect a seaman who reports a regulatory violation that has the approval of less senior authorities in the Coast Guard. As we have noted earlier, whistleblower protections, such as § 2114, are designed to encourage employees to aid in the enforcement of maritime laws and Coast Guard regulations by making claims through protected channels.28 This purpose certainly is served by a report of an employer's imminent violation, even when the violation already has the approval of Coast Guard personnel, given that those individuals do not have the last word on enforcement matters.

Now that we have determined that the plaintiffs' correspondence with the Coast Guard is protected under § 2114, we must decide whether the district court correctly determined that the plaintiffs were terminated in retaliation for having sent this correspondence to the Coast Guard.29

At the bench trial, the parties presented very different factual scenarios. In the plaintiffs' view, their discharges were the direct result of their communication with the Coast Guard about the staffing of the vessel. The defendants contended, however, that the discharges were due to the plaintiffs' union activities and concomitant actions that compromised Riverboat's business success.

The district court resolved this dispute definitively. Sitting as the trier of fact, the court decided that Riverboat's case was simply not worthy of belief. In its order following the submission of post-trial briefs, the court characterized as based on "speculation and conjecture" the testimony of Mr. Gourguechon and of Mr. Heitmeier that the plaintiffs were fired because of their refusal to join a union other than MEBA and because they may have been involved in sabotaging wiring aboard the vessel and causing expensive transformers to blow. R.191 at 27. The court found no specific evidence of sabotage and no evidence that the plaintiffs were involved in the rewiring problems that led to the blown circuit breakers. Id. Indeed, the court noted that there was evidence that the wiring had to be done under time constraints—evidence that was quite compatible with the plaintiffs' testimony that the wiring was first replaced temporarily and later brought up to code specifications.30 Id. The district court also found the defendants' testimony on the reasons for the plaintiffs' discharges to be unworthy of belief because, at each stage of the proceedings, the defendants offered a different justification for the firings.31 The district court believed that this pattern supported the conclusion that the defendants first fired the plaintiffs and then came up with post hoc rationalizations for having done so. Management's letter of discharge to Mr. Gaffney, which was drafted the day that the amended COI was posted, specifically stated that the reason for his discharge was his contact with the Coast Guard; there was no reference to union activities or to sabotage. The other plaintiffs were terminated in rapid succession—all within two weeks of the Coast Guard's revocation of the limited endorsement. Although their termination letters did not include the reason for termination set out in Mr. Gaffney's letter, the district court thought the difference was quite explainable because, upon receipt of his letter, Mr. Gaffney had told Mr. Gourguechon that he legally could not be discharged because he had contacted the Coast Guard. Id. at 28-29.

Returning to this issue once again in the course of ruling on the Rule 52 and Rule 59(b) motions, the district court repeated its earlier analysis and then pointedly said that the "defendants' motivation for firing the plaintiffs was because the plaintiffs reported to the Coast Guard that the COI violated safety regulations. This was the sole reason that the defendants fired the plaintiffs, not based on later asserted allegations of sabotage or union activity." R.199 at 8.

When a district court makes findings of fact regarding causation, as it did in this instance, those findings are conclusive and binding upon this court unless they are clearly erroneous. Jutzi-Johnson v. United States, 263 F.3d 753, 763 (7th Cir.2001) (discussing factual findings as to the existence of proximate cause). Although the record does contain evidence that if believed by the trier of fact might have led to a different conclusion, the record also contains the evidence relied upon by the district court to reach the conclusions that it did. See id. ("[A] district court's choice between two permissible inferences from the evidence cannot be clearly erroneous." (internal quotation marks omitted)). Accordingly, we must accept those findings.

Riverboat urges us to reverse the district court's findings because, even if the Coast Guard correspondence played a marginal role in the termination decisions, the "motivating cause" for terminating the plaintiffs was their union activities. Appellants' Br. at 40. As is made clear by the legislative history, the private right of action made available under § 2114 was modeled after OSHA's retaliatory discharge provision, 29 U.S.C. § 660(c). See S.Rep.No. 98-454, at 12 (1984), as reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4831, 4842. Under OSHA, in order for a plaintiff to establish that he was terminated in retaliation for filing a health or safety complaint, he must show that the "protected activity was a substantial reason for the action," although it "need not be the sole consideration behind discharge." 29 C.F.R. § 1977.6(b). In such circumstances, as under § 2114, the ultimate question is whether the discharge or other adverse action would have "taken place `but for' engagement in protected activity." Id.; see also Dole v. H.M.S. Direct Mail Serv., Inc., 752 F.Supp. 573, 580 (W.D.N.Y.1990) (holding that, although the plaintiff was a "problem employee" and eventually may have been terminated for that reason, the immediate cause of his termination was the OSHA report); Donovan v. Commercial Sewing, Inc., 562 F.Supp. 548, 552-53 (D.Conn. 1982) (concluding that the OSHA complaint was the but-for cause of the plaintiff's termination, given the temporal connection between that complaint and the subsequent termination). In this case, however, a mixed-motive or "but for" analysis is not necessary. The district court specifically found that the defendants did not act from a mixed motive but from a sole motive—the plaintiffs' correspondence with the Coast Guard.

The defendants also contend that the district court erred in failing to engage in McDonnell Douglas' burden-shifting analysis. As in the case of the OSHA statute, we have no doubt that a defendant can defend against an allegation that he discharged a seaman in retaliation for reporting a matter to the Coast Guard by introducing evidence that the discharge was non-pretextually based on another, legally permissible ground. Indeed, the defendants in this case attempted to avail themselves of just such a defense. However, the findings of the district court that the evidence proffered by the defendants was not worthy of belief simply precludes this defense.

Moreover, the availability of the defense of a non-pretextual reason for discharge does not necessarily make the McDonnell Douglas paradigm the appropriate analytical tool for the evaluation of this defense. We have held repeatedly that the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting method of proof is relevant only before trial, both to determine whether the plaintiff has met her burden of creating a triable issue of material fact and to determine the sequence of presenting evidence at trial. See Mattenson v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 438 F.3d 763, 767 (7th Cir.2006) ("The judge on his own initiative gave a McDonnell Douglas instruction despite tireless repetition by appellate courts that the burden-shifting formula of that case is not intended for the guidance of jurors; it is intended for the guidance of the judge when asked to resolve a case on summary judgment.").

The district court entered judgment in favor of all but two plaintiffs—Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton. It held that there was no evidence that Riverboat executives were aware that these individuals were involved in a report of a violation of safety regulations prior to their terminations. See R.191 at 21. The plaintiffs signed only the August letter, not the October 10th letter; according to the district court, there is no evidence that Mr. Gourguechon read the August letter or that the August letter qualified for statutory protection under § 2114 as a "report." Therefore, according to the district court, Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton did not meet their burden of proving that they were terminated in retaliation for protected correspondence with the Coast Guard. We review this finding of fact for clear error.

Although Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton did not sign the October 10th "report," the facts of the case compel a finding that the defendants believed them to be involved in protected communications with the Coast Guard. On January 13, 1998, five of the ten plaintiffs filed a complaint in the district court. This complaint, to which were attached the four letters sent to the Coast Guard during August, September and October of 1997, was served on the M/V Showboat on January 14, 1998. The defendants admit having seen and read these attached letters at this time. See R.69, Ex.B at 110; Tr.IV at 47. Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton were terminated shortly thereafter, on January 22 and January 15, 1998, respectively.

As we have noted earlier, the district court found that, although the termination letters delivered to seven of the prevailing plaintiffs did not contain explanations for their discharges, like Mr. Gaffney's letter, the timing and circumstances prove that these plaintiffs also were fired because of correspondence with the Coast Guard. Specifically, these plaintiffs were "fired in rapid succession and only days after the Coast Guard informed [Riverboat] that it was rescinding the COI limited endorsement." R.191 at 28. The "smoking gun"—Mr. Gaffney's termination letter—also demonstrated retaliation against all eight plaintiffs, given that Mr. Gaffney had "testified that he told the defendants, upon receiving his termination letter, that they could not fire him for the reason stated. The[] rapid firings are at least circumstantial evidence that [all of] the plaintiffs were terminated because of their report to the Coast Guard." Id. at 28-29.

We cannot see why these findings do not apply with equal force to the terminations of Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton. As in the case of the other eight plaintiffs, the defendants were aware of Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton's involvement in the petition to remove the limited endorsement from the M/V Showboat's COI. Moreover, the terminations of all ten plaintiffs occurred in "rapid succession," id. at 28; the terminations of Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton occurred within eight days after the defendants learned that they had signed the August letter to the Coast Guard. Given this sequence of events, we conclude that there is sufficient evidence linking the report to the Coast Guard to the terminations of Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton. The district court's contrary conclusion is unsupported by the evidence and, therefore, clearly erroneous.

Riverboat maintains that, unlike the eight prevailing plaintiffs, Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton did not sign the October 10th letter and therefore never submitted a "report" to the Coast Guard. § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. However, given that the letters were served on the M/V Showboat simultaneously and Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton were terminated shortly thereafter, nearly concurrently with the terminations of the other eight plaintiffs, the logical inference is that the defendants believed that Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton were involved in a broader effort to obtain the revocation of the licensing waiver. Although timing is not dispositive, see Culver v. Gorman & Co., 416 F.3d 540, 546 (7th Cir.2005) ("We have never said that [temporal proximity] is dispositive in providing or disproving a causal link." (internal quotation marks omitted)), it is a significant factor to be considered, particularly when there is "other evidence that supports the inference of a causal link," id. Here, the terminations of Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton followed closely on the heels of the terminations of the other plaintiffs, which we have held were in retaliation for their protected communication with the Coast Guard. As in justifying the terminations of the other plaintiffs, the defendants offered shifting rationales for terminating Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton. Compare Gourguechon Test., R.70 at 46 (testifying at NLRB proceedings that Mr. Doncet was fired to get a "different group of people, different skills" in the engine room), with Gourguechon Test., Tr.IV at 19, 38-41 (testifying at the bench trial that all of the plaintiffs were fired because of their union involvement and concurrent activities). It is also undisputed that the defendants knew that Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton were involved in the first inquiry to the Coast Guard, a letter which, although classified as a Freedom of Information Act request, also expressed safety concerns with the relaxation of licensing requirements. See R.34, Ex.2 (noting that "the relaxation of licensing requirements for the engineers on the M/V Showboat . . . substantially reduces passenger safety by not requiring experienced personnel to crew the vessel"). This document—while not formally a "report"—put the defendants on notice that Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton were concerned about, and motivated by, the safety implications of hiring engineers with limited licenses. Moreover, the defendants knew that Mr. Gaffney spearheaded the drafting of all four letters attached to the complaint, making reasonable the conclusion that the signatories to these letters were involved in a general, larger effort to petition the Coast Guard for an amended COI. We conclude, on the basis of these pieces of circumstantial evidence, that Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton's communication with the Coast Guard and their implicit connection to the October "report" was a motiving factor in their discharges, entitling them to whistleblower protection under § 2114. We therefore reverse the judgment of the district court as it relates to Mr. Doncet and Mr. Horton and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion, including the calculation of proper damages with respect to these two plaintiffs.

D. Mr. Heitmeier and Mr. Gourguechon's Liability

1. "Individuals in Charge of a Vessel"

Section 2114, at the time of the events in this case, limited its scope to "owner[s], charterer[s], managing operator[s], agent[s], master[s], [and] individual[s] in charge of a vessel." § 13(a), 98 Stat. at 2863. Riverboat's contention that this language does not encompass either Mr. Heitmeier or Mr. Gourguechon is without merit. The plain meaning of the phrase "individual in charge of a vessel" refers to persons who have "control over or responsibility for" the vessel's operation. American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.2000) (defining the phrase "in charge of"); see also Black's Law Dictionary 685 (5th ed.1979) (defining "in charge of" as "in the care or custody of, or intrusted to the management or direction of"). Mr. Heitmeier, as the President, sole shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of both Riverboat Services, Inc. and Riverboat Services of Indiana, Inc., certainly exercises substantial control over the M/V Showboat and its operations; it would be preposterous to suggest otherwise. Similarly, Mr. Gourguechon, as the Director of Marine Operations for Riverboat during the events in this case, was in a position of significant responsibility; among other things, he was in charge of managing the vessel's crew, including making promotion and termination decisions. Indeed, Mr. Gourguechon played a large, if not dispositive, role in the termination decisions in question in this case. Were § 2114 construed so as to not permit the plaintiffs to sue the director of personnel matters—the person actually responsible for the discharges—the statute indeed would be enfeebled. We therefore hold that both Mr. Heitmeier and Mr. Gourguechon qualify as "individual[s] in charge of a vessel" and may be sued in their individual capacities under the terms of § 2114.

Riverboat also submits that the district court erred in holding Mr. Heitmeier liable, given that, until after this litigation began, he did not know about the plaintiffs' letters to the Coast Guard. Instead, according to the defendants, Mr. Heitmeier believed that the plaintiffs were involved in the disruption and miswiring of the vessel and directed Mr. Gourguechon to fire them for this reason. Specifically, the defendants submit that, at the time of the plaintiffs' discharges, Mr. Wallace

had at least three "run-ins" with the MEBA, and in one instance, members of the union barged into [Mr.] Wallace's East Chicago office and were escorted out by security. [Mr.] Wallace . . . directed [Mr.] Heitmeier to get rid of any employee involved in the union activity because he did not want to deal with the aggravation of the union activity.

R.191 at 9 (summarizing trial testimony). Mr. Heitmeier, in turn, conveyed this request to Mr. Gourguechon, who was solely responsible for drafting the termination letters and delivering these letters to the plaintiffs.

The district court made factual findings that the defendants' proffered reason for terminating the plaintiffs— primarily their union involvement and related activities—was "unconvincing" and "based on speculation and conjecture." Id. at 27. As a general rule, we shall defer to such findings unless they are shown to be clearly erroneous; moreover, these findings are compatible with the district court's conclusion that Riverboat fired the plaintiffs in retaliation for their protected communication with the Coast Guard. See supra.

Nevertheless, in Mr. Heitmeier's case, the district court's findings, while affording a factual basis for discrediting Mr. Heitmeier's given reasons for terminating the plaintiffs, do not provide a basis for establishing the requisite causation between Mr. Heitmeier's direction that Mr. Gourguechon fire the plaintiffs and the retaliation for their report of a violation of safety regulations to the Coast Guard. In finding a causal link between the plaintiffs' communications with the Coast Guard and their subsequent terminations, the district court relied heavily upon the "smoking gun" in the case—Mr. Gaffney's termination letter which cited the Coast Guard correspondence. Although the plaintiffs suggest that Mr. Heitmeier retained supervisory responsibility for the drafting of this letter, the record contains no affirmative evidence to support this contention; there is no evidence that Mr. Heitmeier even knew of the letter's contents before it was delivered to Mr. Gaffney. Instead, Mr. Gourguechon testified that he typed that letter and chose its words, including reference to the phrase "unauthorized communication and correspondence with regulatory bodies having jurisdiction over the operation of the vessel." Tr.IV at 113. Moreover, Mr. Gourguechon admitted at trial that he made the ultimate decision to terminate the plaintiffs:

Q: You made the decision to terminate Mike Gaffney, and only after you made that decision you went to Captain Heitmeier and told him that and he just said okay, go ahead.

A: Yes, that could be correct.

Q: So you did make the decision to terminate Mike Gaffney? A: Yes.

Id. at 76-77.

Additionally, there is no evidence that Mr. Heitmeier knew of the plaintiffs' letters to the Coast Guard until the complaint was served on the M/V Showboat on January 14, 1998; by that date, Mr. Gaffney, as well as four other plaintiffs, had been fired in retaliation for their protected communications with the Coast Guard. Absent proof that Mr. Heitmeier knew of the plaintiffs' reports of a safety violation on board the M/V Showboat prior to the drafting of Mr. Gaffney's termination letter, and, indeed, prior to the termination of five of the ten plaintiffs, there is no support, direct or circumstantial, for the conclusion that Mr. Heitmeier was motivated by this communication in ordering the plaintiffs' terminations.

1. Availability of Compensatory and Punitive Damages

The parties dispute whether the district court erred in awarding the plaintiffs punitive damages, as well as in awarding the plaintiffs expenses incurred in the course of obtaining new employment. Before we address the merits of these issues, we pause to consider whether Riverboat waived the argument that § 2114 permits only equitable relief—limited to reinstatement with back pay—by failing to raise it in a timely fashion. Specifically, Riverboat neglected to make this argument in its post-trial brief; it instead responded for the first time to the plaintiffs' request for compensatory and punitive damages in its Rule 52 Motion for Judgment or, in the Alternative, for Amendment of Judgment Pursuant to Rule 59.

Ordinarily, a challenge to damages not raised until post-judgment motions is deemed waived. See NutraSweet Co. v. X-L Eng'g Co., 227 F.3d 776, 791 (7th Cir.2000); see also Ameritech Info. Sys., Inc. v. Bar Code Res., Inc., 331 F.3d 571, 574 (7th Cir.2003).32 However, this general waiver principle does not resolve, by itself, the situation before us. Given the very unique procedural history of this case, we must examine and evaluate the record as a totality to determine whether the defendants waived this issue. The plaintiffs first contend that Riverboat should have objected to their request for punitive damages in their proposed jury instructions and that the failure to do so constitutes waiver. However, Riverboat did file objections to the plaintiffs' jury instructions, including to the plaintiffs' request for an instruction on punitive damages. See R.160 at 6 (objecting to the proposed instruction on damages as "placing undue emphasis on an award of damages, and incorrectly allowing punitive damages and other compensatory damages for violations of general maritime law and statutory violations. Defendants suggest that no instruction be given"). That Riverboat did not further develop this objection is, in all likelihood, attributable to the procedural development of the case. The trial was not sent to a jury but instead was heard by the magistrate judge. Notably, the district court was given a full opportunity to address the merits of Riverboat's position on the availability of compensatory and punitive damages during post-trial proceedings, and the district court, who obviously was far more knowledgeable about the course of proceedings than the cold record allows us to be, considered the possibility of waiver but nevertheless decided to proceed to the merits of the issue. The plaintiffs certainly were given a "meaningful opportunity to respond" to the defendants' challenges in their responses to the defendants' post-trial motions. Jones-El v. Berge, 374 F.3d 541, 545 (7th Cir.2004). Similarly, the district court was given ample opportunity to address the issue. In light of these circumstances, we cannot say that the district court erred in determining that the availability of damages had been preserved adequately.

Therefore, we turn to the merits of Riverboat's challenge to the availability of compensatory and punitive damages. The district court examined the text of 46 U.S.C. § 2114, as well as general maritime law and analogous retaliatory discharge case law, and concluded from these sources that compensatory and punitive damages were available in this case. See R.191 at 36-40 (also noting that punitive damages would further the purpose of § 2114 in light of the potential chilling effect that flows from workplace retaliation). As a question of law, we review this conclusion de novo. Kramer v. Banc of America Sec., LLC, 355 F.3d 961, 964 (7th Cir.2004) (reviewing the district court's conclusion that punitive damages were permissible under the governing statute de novo).

At the time of the events in this case, 46 U.S.C. § 2114 provided that, if a seaman is terminated in retaliation for protected correspondence with the Coast Guard, he is entitled to "any appropriate relief, including—(1) restraining violations of this section; and (2) reinstatement to the seaman's former position with back pay." § 13(b), 98 Stat. at 2864. Riverboat contends that the statute does not make available either compensatory or punitive damages, but rather "limits the plaintiff's [sic] relief to equitable remedies such as reinstatement and back pay." Appellants' Br. at 43.

The plain text of the statute, however, makes clear that the plaintiffs' relief is not so limited. The statute authorizes a federal court to award any and all relief that the court deems appropriate. Equitable remedies, including an injunction and reinstatement, are listed in a demonstrative fashion; such remedies may be awarded, but do not represent the exclusive options available to the court.33 This conclusion is bolstered by § 2114's legislative history. First, the legislative history describes § 2114 as making available a "legal remedy," see S.Rep. No. 98-454, at 12 (1984), as reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4831, 4842, a term of art that—as a historical matter—encompasses and is defined by monetary relief. See Int'l Fin. Servs. Corp. v. Chromas Techs. Canada, Inc., 356 F.3d 731, 736 (7th Cir.2004) ("Legal remedies traditionally involve money damages."). Second, Congress noted in the legislative history that § 2114 is intended to create a "private right of action similar . . . to that in OSH Act section 11(c)." S.Rep. No. 98-454. Indeed, Congress employed precisely the same statutory language in § 2114 as it did in OSHA, in both cases making available all "appropriate relief." Compare § 13(b), 98 Stat. at 2864, with 29 U.S.C. § 660(c)(2). This provision in the OSHA statute has been held to authorize both compensatory and punitive damages. See Reich v. Cambridgeport Air Sys., Inc., 26 F.3d 1187, 1191-92 (1st Cir.1994). Specifically, the First Circuit in Reich deemed Congress' choice of words, in light of governing Supreme Court precedent, significant. It pointed out that, in Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools, 503 U.S. 60, 112 S.Ct. 1028, 117 L.Ed.2d 208 (1992), the Supreme Court held that, as a general matter and "absent clear direction to the contrary by Congress, the federal courts have the power to award any appropriate relief in a cognizable cause of action brought pursuant to a federal statute," including compensatory and punitive damages. Id. at 70-71, 112 S.Ct. 1028 (emphasis added). In turn, when a statute explicitly makes available "any appropriate relief," referencing the broad power of the federal courts to award both compensatory and punitive damages, we can infer that Congress intended prevailing plaintiffs to recover compensatory and punitive remedies. This is true of § 2114, as it is of OSHA § 11(c).34

Riverboat, however, submits that by detailing available forms of relief that are equitable in nature—an injunction, reinstatement and back pay—Congress thereby limited the available remedies to those listed in the statute. We cannot accept this argument. Use of the term "including," followed by a list of equitable remedies, "indicates the availability of the named remedies, but does not purport to limit `all appropriate relief' to those remedies only." Reich, 26 F.3d at 1191; see also Black's Law Dictionary 687 (5th ed. 1979) ("`Including' within a statute is interpreted as a word of . . . illustrative application"). By choosing to begin with the phrase "any appropriate relief'—rather than merely providing that a seaman is entitled to an award "restraining violations of this section; [and] reinstatement to the seaman's former position with backpay," § 13(b), 98 Stat. at 2864—Congress made it clear that it was not presenting an exhaustive list of available remedies.35 Thus, we read "any appropriate relief" as an umbrella label; in turn, the phrase "including restraining violations . . . and reinstatement" indicates that the umbrella of available remedies encompasses both legal and equitable relief.

Riverboat also submits that, although the statute explicitly authorizes the district court to award the plaintiffs back pay for lost income, the district court erred in its calculations. Specifically, Riverboat contends that the plaintiffs did not mitigate their damages by immediately seeking re-employment, but instead spent significant amounts of time walking the picket line, taking various classes and traveling after being terminated by Riverboat. Riverboat also submits that the district court failed to calculate carefully the income earned by each plaintiff post-termination.

a. mitigation

The plaintiffs were required to mitigate their damages by using reasonable diligence in seeking employment after their terminations. However, because the lack of mitigation is an affirmative defense, the burden of proof for this issue falls on the employer. See Hutchison v. Amateur Elec. Supply, Inc., 42 F.3d 1037, 1044 (7th Cir.1994) (discussing mitigation rules applicable to the calculation of damages under Title VII). The district court found that Riverboat had failed to meet this burden. After four days of testimony at trial detailing with particularity the plaintiffs' post-termination activities, including the specifics of their job search efforts, the district court decided that the plain