OSHA Issues New Whistleblower Investigation Manual

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a new manual for investigators to use when determining whether or not a retaliatory case against a worker should be pursued or dismissed.

Under federal law, it is illegal for employers to retaliate against a worker for reporting safety violations and/or hazards in the workplace. Unfortunately, many employers disregard this law, demoting, firing or otherwise penalizing these "whistleblowers." In an effort to discourage this type of retaliatory action, OSHA has a team of investigators whose sole job is to determine whether or not cases are worth pursuing.

OSHA's whistleblower investigation team has been instructed to use OSHA's manual -- a 290-page guide that offers detailed instructions on how to facilitate investigations, complete with examples, legal jargon and more. The Administration recently updated this guide earlier this year, however, with a few major changes.

One of the most notable changes made in OSHA's whistleblower investigation manual is the elimination of the prime facie standard that was previously used to determine if a complaint had merit. Under the new standard, investigations may be launched when OSHA has reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred. In other words, OSHA has the authority to launch an investigation if there's reasonable cause that a complaint has merit.

"This Instruction implements the OSHA Whistleblower Investigations Manual, and supersedes the April 21, 2015 Instruction. This manual outlines procedures, and other information relative to the handling of retaliation complaints under the various whistleblower statutes delegated to OSHA and may be used as a ready reference," wrote OSHA in its new whisteblower investigation manual.

So, just how common are whistleblower complaints? OSHA says that it has investigated some 26,421 complaints within the past five years alone. However, just 2% of these complaints have resulted in action being taken. When OSHA determines that a complaint has merit, it will attempt to settle the issue through remedies made available to the employee, some of which include reinstatement and back pay. If an employer fails or refuses to abide by these remedies, litigation may be sought in a district court.