Whistleblower Protections for Employees Apply Regardless of Immigration Status

OSHA prohibits retaliation against employees for exercising their workplace rights, regardless of the employees’ immigration status. That issue has come up in a recently filed federal lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Department of Labor when an undocumented construction worker was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shortly after reporting a workplace injury and filing a worker’s compensation claim arising from a 2017 accident. Section 11(c) of the OSH Act prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees for exercising their rights under the OSH Act.…
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A Whistleblower on OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program

Darrell Whitman is a former attorney and professor who became an Office of Whistleblower Protection Programs (OWPP) investigator in 2010. Whitman was a GS-12 Regional Investigator for OWPP, the U.S. Department of Labor, and OSHA. In 2011, Whitman and several other investigators began challenging abuses of power in OWPP’s Region 9 offices in San Francisco. They began voicing their concerns through internal union grievance procedures, and then began raising concerns to the OWPP Director and then Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez. The group accused officials…
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Whistle While You Work: OSHA Draft Policy Seeks to Prevent Retaliation for Employees Reporting Safety Concerns

On November 6, 2015, OSHA issued a draft policy entitled “Protecting Whistleblowers: Recommended Practices for Employers for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation,” for which it informally seeks public comment through January 19, 2016. The draft policy seeks to facilitate an environment in which employees can freely raise OSHA concerns without the fear of employer retaliation. This whistleblower protection policy specifically focuses on improving safety incentive programs that employers could use in a retaliatory manner against workers who raise such concerns. In its endeavor to create a…
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OSHA Orders Employer to Reinstate Whistleblower and Pay More Than $166,000 in Damages

On July 30, 2013, a pilot refused to fly a medical transport helicopter over mountainous terrain due to a faulty emergency locator transmitter. The employee was placed on administrative leave the next day and was eventually terminated on August 5, 2013. This termination was reported to OSHA and an investigation followed. OSHA found that the pilot’s employer terminated the employee in retaliation for refusing to fly the helicopter. OSHA not only ordered that the pilot be reinstated, but also levied fines totaling $158,000 in back…
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