OSHA Expands Whistleblower Liability

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Over the six years from 2012 to 2018, the number of whistleblower complaints that were filed through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration increased by 74 percent. This is thanks in large part due to increasing efforts by the federal government to protect whistleblowers and establish infrastructure for them to submit their reports.

Investigating OSHA complaints

Any employer who receives an OSHA whistleblower complaint will face a significant investigation and enforcement that could, in some circumstances, last years. Even if the complaint ends up being meritless, the employer will still be investigated.

An OSHA investigator will submit a letter to the employer outlining that a complaint has been filed and summarizing the complaint to the employer. The letter will request the employer to respond within 20 days. Employers must be completely truthful and thorough in their responses. They will be allowed to request more than 20 days to perform competent investigations and to seek outside counsel.

When OSHA receives the response letter, it will submit the letter to the complainant and ask for a response from them. If the complainant does not respond, the complaint will be subject to summary dismissal. But if the case proceeds, OSHA will then move on to investigation, which will involve requesting additional documents and interviewing anyone who may have witnessed the action(s) in question. With such a large backlog of cases, it might take months or even years before the investigation can begin. But 95 percent of all complaints will be dismissed for various reasons.

For more information about the OSHA whistleblower program, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer at Kardell Law Group today.

By Steve Kardell | Published March 19, 2020 | Posted in Whistleblower Litigation

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Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
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Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
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Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.