OSHA's Protection Program for Whistleblower Employees

June 16, 2011

According to the National Business Ethics Survey, 56 percent of employees claim to have witnessed serious workplace violations, but only half of these workers take steps to report them. While reporting workplace violations may distress some employees, the Whistleblower Protection Act and protection program, administered by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), protects workers who participate in various reporting activities against employers who violate industry regulations, standards or ethics.

Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers play a key role in holding employers and their agents accountable for following the law and required standards of practice. Workers may see many different types of infractions that should be reported, including:
- Fraud
- Environmental violations
- Risks to health and safety
- Unethical behavior

OSHA and the OWPP

OSHA oversees whistleblower activities such as workplace-violation reporting through its Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program (OWPP). The OWPP manages complaints filed under 21 different whistleblower-protection statutes. These statutes protect whistleblowing employees from retaliation for reporting infractions by employers.

Whistleblowing employees who believe their employers retaliated against them for reporting workplace violations should consider seeking protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act. When a worker files a claim under the Act, OSHA first will determine whether an in-depth investigation of the employer's behavior is warranted.

If an investigation occurs, OSHA will examine whether the employee engaged in a protected reporting act, and whether the employer knew about the reporting and consequently subjected the whistleblower to an "adverse action" (firing, demoting, intimidating, disciplining or threatening the employee) because of the whistleblowing activity.

Whistleblowing employees must file their complaints with the appropriate state or federal agencies, like OSHA, within a certain time frame following a retaliatory act by an employer. If OSHA investigates the claim and finds illegal retaliation by the employer, it can issue an order to remedy the retaliatory act, such as reinstating the employee or paying back wages.

Both state and federal whistleblowing laws govern and protect the violation reporting process and whistleblowers themselves. A worker does not need a lawyer to report a workplace violation, but the process can be confusing to navigate without legal guidance. In addition, if retaliation for reporting occurs, a lawyer can help a worker who has suffered negative consequences. If you are thinking of reporting a workplace violation or have been retaliated against for reporting, contact a knowledgeable lawyer with experience in whistleblower cases.

Article provided by Kocurek & Krudop, P.C.
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