U.S. Department of Labor | ||||||
Occupational Safety & Health Administration |
«« Directorate of Enforcement Programs, Office of Investigative Assistance | |
The Whistleblower
Program |
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The Occupational Safety and Health Act was enacted to achieve safer and more healthful workplaces throughout the nation. The Act provides for a wide range of substantive and procedural rights for employees and representatives of employees. To help ensure that employees are, in fact, free to participation in safety and health activities, Section 11(c) of the Act prohibits any person from discharging or in any manner discriminating against any employee because the employee has exercised rights under the Act. These rights include complaining to OSHA and seeking an OSHA inspection, participating in an OSHA inspection, and participating or testifying in any proceeding related to an OSHA inspection. "Discrimination" can include the following actions:
The 14 statutes enforced by OSHA and the regulations governing their administration are listed below. Click on any statute to review the text of the whistleblower protection provisions.
Regulations
Filing a Complaint If you believe your employer has discriminated against you because you exercised your safety and health rights, contact your local OSHA Office right away. Most discrimination complaints fall under the OSH Act, which gives you only 30 days to report discrimination. Some of the other laws have complaint-filing deadlines that differ from OSHA's, so be sure to check. You can telephone, fax or mail your OSHA complaint. OSHA conducts an in-depth interview with each complainant to determine the need for an investigation. If evidence supports the worker's claim of discrimination, OSHA will ask the employer to restore the worker's job, earnings and benefits. If the employer objects, OSHA may take the employer to court to seek relief for the worker. The procedures for investigations of discrimination complaints are contained in the OSHA Whistleblower Investigations Manual. |
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