Category Archives: OSHA Administration

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OSHA Implements Pilot Program to Streamline Complaint Intake Process

OSHA’s new nationwide year-long pilot program that took effect on February 17, 2023, will aim to streamline the whistleblower complaint intake process. OSHA, which administers over two dozen whistleblower statutes, has seen a rising number of whistleblower complaints filed in recent years.  This pilot program aims to relieve the strain on OSHA’s investigative resources by … Continue Reading

OSHA Orders Company to Reinstate Whistleblowers and Orders Payment of Over $800k for Purported SOX Violations

On October 7, 2022, OSHA announced that it had ordered ExxonMobil Corp. to immediately rehire two computational scientists who alleged that they were fired in retaliation for leaking to the media their concerns about improper conduct by the company.  In addition to reinstatement, the former employees were also awarded over $800,000 in back-pay, interest and … Continue Reading

OSHA’s COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard Contains Anti-Retaliation Provision

On June 21, 2021, OSHA’s much-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) on COVID-19 protections went into effect.  While Proskauer’s Law and the Workplace blog covered the ETS in detail here, this post focuses on the anti-retaliation provision in the ETS. Anti-Retaliation Provision The ETS, which applies only to the health-care sector, contains an anti-retaliation provision prohibiting … Continue Reading

Whistleblower Claims on the Horizon Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

In recent weeks, there have been numerous widely reported incidents of employees, particularly those in the health care industry, claiming that they have been retaliated against for reporting health and safety concerns related to COVID-19.  Such complaints are indicative of the kinds of whistleblower and retaliation claims employers are likely to see in the near … Continue Reading

ARB Rejects SOX Claim Due to Complainant’s Harassment

The ARB recently affirmed a motion for summary decision against a Complainant claiming retaliatory discharge under SOX, finding that he failed to demonstrate that he engaged in protected activity and that the Company would have discharged him in the absence of any protected activity given his misconduct. Latigo v. ENI Trading & Shipping, 2018 DOL … Continue Reading

N.D. Indiana: Employer Bears Burden of Proving Whistleblower Exhausted Administrative Remedies

On February 1, 2016, the Northern District of Indiana ruled in a case brought under the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) that whether a whistleblower has fulfilled relevant administrative requirements prior to filing suit is a “condition precedent” rather than a “jurisdictional requirement.”  King v. Ind. Harbor Belt R.R., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43263 (N.D. … Continue Reading

OSHA Releases Final Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Regulations

OSHA recently released its final rule implementing the whistleblower provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (“CFPA”).  The following are the key features of the rule:       Deadline for Filing a Complaint:  A complaint must be filed within 180 days of the alleged retaliation.  OSHA’s rule notes that such a complaint … Continue Reading

“Reasonable Cause” Standard Highlighted In OSHA’s Revised Whistleblower Investigations Manual

On January 28, 2016, OSHA issued a revised Whistleblower Investigations Manual (“Manual”) outlining procedures for the handling of retaliation complaints under the various whistleblower statutes that OSHA oversees.  Chapter 3 of the Manual, titled “Conduct of the Investigation,” states that the burden of proof to be applied by investigators is “whether there is a reasonable … Continue Reading

OSHA Implements New Whistleblower Training Program for Investigators

A recent audit conducted by Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the training provided to OSHA whistleblower complaint investigators could be improved in material respects (we previously blogged about the OIG’s audit here).  It found that the absence of an official training directive combined with complex statutes, policies and procedures created an environment where training was lacking. … Continue Reading

OIG’s Audit Of OSHA Whistleblower Programs

On September 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published the findings of its audit of OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Programs (Whistleblower Programs).  The audit focused on (1) determining what improvements have been made to the Whistleblower Programs, and (2) what improvements still need to be made.  Though the report … Continue Reading

OSHA Updates Whistleblower Manual, Focusing On Damages And Settlement Agreements

On May 21, 2015, OSHA—which has responsibility for investigating and enforcement under 22 whistleblower retaliation statutes—released an updated edition of its Whistleblower Investigations Manual (the Manual), the first such update since September 2011.  The new edition provides additional guidance to investigators on a variety of issues, with the majority of changes related to potentially available … Continue Reading

OSHA’s Recent Guidance on Whistleblower Retaliation Investigations

The Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs recently issued a guidance memorandum titled “Clarification of the Investigative Standard for OSHA Whistleblower Investigations,” for the apparent purpose of clarifying the standards for its whistleblower investigations.  A review of this memorandum provides employers with insight as to the standard OSHA uses to determine whether a merits finding is in … Continue Reading

Proskauer Joins Heads of SEC and OSHA Whistleblower Programs for 3/31/15 Webinar

Please join us for a webinar with heads of the SEC and OSHA whistleblower programs and a prominent plaintiff-side whistleblower attorney, titled: Whistleblower Reward and Retaliation Claims: Current Developments. Register here:  REGISTER Our distinguished panel will include: Sean X. McKessy – Chief, Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Whistleblower Anthony Rosa – Department of Labor, … Continue Reading

OSHA Issues Long-Awaited SOX Whistleblower Rule

On March 5, 2015, OSHA issued a long-awaited Final Rule regarding SOX whistleblower procedures and related matters. The new Final Rule will replace the Interim Final Rule enacted in 2011, after Dodd-Frank amended SOX. The Final Rule largely follows the Interim Final Rule, even though commenters expressed a range of serious concerns. One key revision … Continue Reading

Consumer Financial Product Whistleblower Complaints Up Dramatically, SOX Complaints (with OSHA) Down

Since the enactment of Dodd-Frank in 2010, the number of whistleblower complaints filed under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”) has risen significantly while the number of SOX complaints filed with OSHA has largely declined.  According to data provided by OSHA, the total number of whistleblower complaints has generally increased over the past ten years.  This … Continue Reading

Co-Chair Connie Bertram Participates in ABA Panel Concerning OSHA Whistleblower Actions with Solicitor of Labor M. Patricia Smith

On September 18, 2014, the ABA’s Labor & Employment Law Section sponsored a program called “SOX, OSHA and Beyond:  Litigating Whistleblower Claims at the DOL.”  M. Patricia Smith, Solicitor of the Department of Labor, Connie N. Bertram, Partner and Co-Chair of the Proskauer Whistleblower Group, and Jason Zuckerman of Zuckerman Law participate in the program’s … Continue Reading

OSHA Orders Company to Pay SOX Whistleblower Back Wages

According to its recent press release, OSHA issued a preliminary order requiring SpongeTech Delivery Systems, Inc. of New York (Company), a cleaning product company, to pay a complainant $31,835.33 in back wages based on its determination that she was retaliated against in violation of Section 806 of SOX.  Complainant apparently reported fraudulent sales to Company … Continue Reading

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Asks Congress to Increase OSH Act Whistleblower Statute of Limitations

On April 29, 2014, David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, testified before the U.S. Senate subcommittee of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding proposed changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act”) whistleblower provision. After highlighting some the recent changes in the … Continue Reading

Senators Grassley, Alexander Question Effectiveness of DOL’s Whistleblower Protection Program

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Risk and Compliance Journal, on April 29, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) sent a letter to OSHA questioning the effectiveness of OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program (“WPP”).  Considering this in context, it should be noted that in 2009 and 2010, two governmental “watchdogs” released reports critical … Continue Reading
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