The Occupational Safety and Health Act is
designed to regulate employment conditions relating to occupational
safety and health and 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.
The Act also recognizes that effective implementation and achievement
of its goals depend in large measure upon the active and orderly
participation of employees, individually and through their
representatives, at every level of safety and health activity.
To help ensure that employees are, in fact, free to participate in
safety and health activities, Section 11(c) of the Act prohibits any
person from discharging or in any manner retaliating 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.
OSHA also administers the whistleblowing provisions of sixteen other
statutes, protecting employees who report violations of various
trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, rail,
consumer product and securities laws.
A person filing a complaint of discrimination or retaliation will be
required to show that he or she engaged in protected activity, the
employer knew about that activity, the employer subjected him or her to
an adverse employment action, and the protected activity contributed to
the adverse action. Adverse employment action is generally defined as a
material change in the terms or conditions of employment. Depending
upon the circumstances of the case, "discrimination" can include:
Firing or laying off
Blacklisting
Demoting
Denying overtime or promotion
Disciplining
Denial of benefits
Failure to hire or rehire
Intimidation
Reassignment affecting prospects for promotion
Reducing pay or hours
The 17 statutes enforced by OSHA and the regulations governing their
administration are listed below. Click on any statute to see the
whistleblower provisions:
If you believe your employer has discriminated against you because you
exercised your safety and health rights or other protected activity,
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.
In addition, depending on the statute, you
may need to file your complaint in writing. You can telephone, fax, or
mail your OSHA 11(c) complaint. The complaint should be filed with the
OSHA office responsible for enforcement activities in the geographical
area where the employee resides or was employed, but may be filed with
any OSHA officer or employee. For more information, call your closest OSHA Regional Office:
Boston (617) 565-2770
New York (212) 337-2378
Philadelphia (215) 861-4900
Atlanta (404) 562-2300
Chicago (312) 353-2220
Dallas (972) 850-4145
Kansas City (816) 283-8745
Denver (720) 264-6550
San Francisco (415) 625-2547
Seattle (206) 553-5930
Written complaints may be filed by mail (we recommend certified mail),
fax, or hand delivery during business hours. The date postmarked,
faxed, or hand-delivered is considered the date filed.
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:
