Temporary Worker Initiative

Whistleblower Protection Rights: Protection from 

Retaliation for Using Rights under the OSH Act

This is part of a series of guidance documents developed under the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) Temporary Worker 

Initiative (TWI). This Initiative focuses on compliance with safety and health 

requirements when temporary workers are employed under the joint 

employment of a staffing agency and a host employer.

Temporary workers are entitled to the same 

protections under the Occupational Safety and 

Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) as all other 

covered workers. When a staffing agency supplies 

temporary workers to a business, the staffing 

agency and its client, commonly referred to as the 

host employer, are considered “joint employers” 

of those workers. Both employers are responsible 

for determining the conditions of employment and 

for complying with the law. Therefore, both may be 

held accountable for violations of the law, including 

exposing workers to hazards and retaliating against 

workers for reporting hazardous conditions. 

In this joint employment structure, questions 

regarding who is responsible for safety and health 

protections are common. This bulletin addresses 

whistleblower protection rights in a temporary 

work situation.

Section 11(c) of the OSH Act protects workers 

who report injuries and/or raise concerns to their 

employer, OSHA, or other government agencies 

about unsafe or unhealthful working conditions in 

the workplace. Temporary workers have the right 

to report injuries and/or raise concerns to their host 

employer, their staffing agency, or both. These 

actions are called “protected activity”. Staffing 

agencies and host employers should promptly 

report to each other any protected activity by 

temporary workers, and appropriately investigate 

and respond to such activity. 

The OSH Act explicitly states that employers shall 

not retaliate against employees for engaging in 

protected activity. Both the host employer and the 

staffing agency may be held liable for retaliating 

against workers who engage in protected activity. 

For example, if after a worker engages in protected 

activity, the host employer asks the staffing agency 

to remove the worker from the host’s worksite, and 

the staffing agency complies, both employers may 

be investigated to determine if either one, or both, 

retaliated against the employee, even if the staffing 

agency places the worker at another worksite. 

Retaliation can include:

•	 Blacklisting

•	 Demoting

•	 Denying overtime or promotion

•	 Disciplining

•	 Denying benefits

•	 Failing to hire or rehire

•	 Firing or laying off

•	 Intimidation

•	 Making threats

•	 Reassignment to a less desirable position, 

including one adversely affecting prospects 

for promotion

•	 Reducing pay

If a worker believes that his or her working 

conditions are unsafe or unhealthy, the worker 

has the right to bring his/her concerns to the 

TWI BULLETIN NO. 3
employer’s attention. The worker also has the 

right to report such concerns directly to OSHA, if 

he/she chooses to do so. 

Therefore, temporary workers have the same 

rights and protections against retaliation as 

all other workers. Based on the circumstances, 

temporary workers who are retaliated against for 

engaging in protected activity may file a complaint 

with OSHA against their host employer, the 

staffing agency, or both. 

If workers have been punished or retaliated 

against for exercising their rights, they must file 

a complaint with OSHA within 30 days of the 

alleged retaliation to preserve their rights under 

section 11(c). No form is required, but workers 

must contact OSHA to report the retaliation. 

Workers can call OSHA at 1-800-321-6742 or 

contacting their closest OSHA area office. A list 

of OSHA area offices may be found at www.osha.

gov/html/RAmap.html. Workers may also file a 

complaint online at www.osha.gov/whistleblower/

WBComplaint.html. 

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions 

of the OSH Act and 21 other statutes protecting 

employees who report violations of various 

laws, including airline, commercial motor carrier, 

consumer product, environmental, financial 

reform, food safety, healthcare reform, nuclear, 

pipeline, worker safety, public transportation, 

railroad, maritime, and securities laws. Additional 

information on OSHA’s anti-retaliation program 

is available on OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection 

Program website (www.whistleblowers.gov). 

Further information on protecting temporary 

workers is available at the OSHA Temporary 

Worker web page (www.osha.gov/temp_workers).

Twenty-seven states and U.S. territories have their 

own OSHA-approved occupational safety and health 

programs. These State Plans have and enforce their 

own occupational safety and health standards that 

must be at least as effective as OSHA’s, but may 

have different or additional requirements. A list of 

the State Plans and more information are available 

at: www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp. State Plans must have a 

provision identical or equivalent to section 11(c), and 

Federal OSHA also enforces section 11(c) in State 

Plan states. Workers may file a retaliation complaint 

with the State Plan or Federal OSHA or both.

HOW CAN OSHA HELP?

OSHA has a great deal of information to assist 

employers in complying with their responsibilities 

under the law. Information on OSHA requirements 

and additional health and safety information is 

available on the OSHA website (www.osha.gov). 

For other valuable worker protection information, 

such as workers’ rights, employer responsibilities 

and other services OSHA offers, visit OSHA’s 

Workers’ page (www.osha.gov/workers). For 

information about whistleblower protection 

rights and responsibilities of employees and 

employers, visit OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection 

Program website (www.whistleblowers.gov). For 

information about OSHA’s Temporary Worker 

Initiative, visit OSHA’s Temporary Worker web 

page (www.osha.gov/temp_workers). 

OSHA can respond to questions or concerns from 

employers and workers. To reach your regional or 

area OSHA office, go to OSHA’s Regional and Area 

Offices webpage (www.osha.gov/html/RAmap.

html) or call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742). OSHA also 

provides help to employers. OSHA’s On-site 

Consultation Program offers free and confidential 

advice to small and medium-sized businesses in 

all states across the country, with priority given 

to high-hazard worksites. On-site consultation 

services are separate from enforcement activities 

and do not result in penalties or citations. To 

contact OSHA’s free consultation program, or for 

additional compliance assistance, call OSHA at 

1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

Workers may file a complaint to have OSHA 

inspect their workplace if they believe that their 

employer is not following OSHA standards 

or that there are serious workplace safety or 

health hazards. All workers, including temporary 

workers, can file a complaint with OSHA by 

calling 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or by printing 

the complaint form from OSHA’s website and 

mailing or faxing it to their local OSHA area office. 

Complaints that are signed by an employee are 

more likely to result in an OSHA inspection.

The OSH Act prohibits employers from retaliating 

against their employees for exercising their rights 

under that law. These rights include raising a 

workplace health or safety concern with the 

employer, reporting an injury or illness, filing an 
OSHA complaint, and participating in an inspection 

or talking to an inspector. If workers have been 

retaliated or discriminated against for exercising 

their rights, they must file a complaint with OSHA 

within 30 days of the alleged adverse action to 

preserve their rights under section 11(c). For more 

information, please visit www.whistleblowers.gov.

If you think that your job is unsafe or if you have 

workplace safety or health questions, contact OSHA at 

1-800-321-OSHA (6742). It’s confidential. We can help. 

Disclaimer: This bulletin is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. It contains 

recommendations as well as descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards. The recommendations are 

advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist employers in providing a safe and healthful 

workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with safety and health standards 

and regulations promulgated by OSHA or by a state with an OSHA-approved state plan. In addition, the OSH Act’s 

General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1), requires employers to provide their employees with a workplace free from 

recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

For more information

www.osha.gov (800) 321-OSHA (6742)

Occupational

Safety and Health

Administration

U.S. Department of Labor

OSHA 3781-03 2015