By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers that are regulated under any of the 22 federal whistleblower protection laws are encouraged to review company policies, procedures, and training systems to examine conformity with this guidance.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has just issued its Recommended Practices for Anti-Retaliation Programs
Continue Reading OSHA Publishes Recommended Practices for Anti-Retaliation Programs
By James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL announced this week its new Whistleblower expedited Case review pilot process, to be conducted in its Region 9. Employers in this region may now anticipate even more cases going to the ALJ’s, and should watch these cases closely.
The U.S. Department of
Continue Reading OSHA Pilots New Expedited Whistleblower Process – Will Allow Complainants to Request Judicial Review
By James L. Curtis and Meagan Newman
Following through on its April 2015 “clarification” of the investigative standard in whistleblower matters, OSHA issued a new whistleblower investigations manual overnight restating the mission of its investigators.
The former manual instructed investigators to dismiss a case if complainant could not establish the prima facie elements of the relevant whistleblower statute. The former
Continue Reading OSHA Issues New Whistleblower Investigations Manual
By James L. Curtis, Meagan Newman, and Craig B. Simonsen
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published a draft document intended to “help employers” to develop a program to protect employees from retaliation when issues or concerns about workplace conditions or activities that could harm workers or members of the public are raised.
The draft, Protecting Whistleblowers: Recommended
Continue Reading OSHA Recommended Practices for Employers for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation
By James L. Curtis and Meagan Newman
OSHA released an updated version of its Whistleblower Investigations Manual (CPL 02-03-005) on May 21, 2015–the first update since September 2011. The manual now reflects procedures for investigating MAP-21 whistleblower claims (protecting workers who report defects in automobiles), as well as substantive changes to Chapter 6 which covers settlement agreements and remedies.
One
Continue Reading OSHA Publishes New Whistleblower Investigations Manual
By James L. Curtis and Meagan Newman
Seyfarth Shaw’s Whistleblower Team is pleased to announce the launch of Workplace Whistleblower, a 10-part microblog series that will offer perspectives on common whistleblower situations faced by HR and in-house legal departments.
With the steady rise in whistleblower claims and related liability, we have seen a rapid increase of calls from clients
Continue Reading Introducing “Workplace Whistleblower”- A 10-Part Microblog Series
By James L. Curtis and Meagan Newman
On October 2, 2012 OSHA announced an alternative dispute resolution pilot program for complaints filed with OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. The program, which will have two methods of ADR: early resolution and mediation, will be offered in the Chicago and San Francisco Regional Offices. Participation in the program will be voluntary.
“OSHA is
Continue Reading Hoping to Reduce the Backlog, OSHA Announces ADR Program for Whistleblower Claims
By James Curtis and Meagan Newman
Data shows that the gap between the number of whistleblower claims filed–under all 21 provisions that provide OSHA with jurisdiction, including OSHA 11(c), STAA, AIR21 and SOX–and the number that are completed is growing. The result is an ever-increasing number of unresolved whistleblower claims and a commensurate number of whistleblowers that
Continue Reading Gap Widens Between Whistleblower Cases Received and Completed
By Meagan Newman
On July 16, 2012 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and OSHA issued a Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate coordination between agencies regarding the enforcement of the Federal Railroad Safety Act’s whistleblower provision. The memorandum establishes procedures for the agencies to follow for handling whistleblower complaints and states that the agencies will jointly develop training to assist FRA
Continue Reading Recent Railroad Administration/OSHA Agreement and Whistleblower Orders Signal Heightened Scrutiny of Railroad Employers