• Denying benefits

• Failing to hire or rehire

• Intimidation

• Reassignment affecting promotion prospects

• Reducing pay or hours

Filing a Complaint

If you believe that your employer retaliated against

you because you exercised your legal rights as an

employee, contact your local OSHA office as soon as

possible, because you must file your complaint within

the legal time limits. OSHA conducts an in-depth

interview with each complainant to determine

whether to conduct an investigation. For more information, call your closest OSHA Regional Office:

• Boston (617) 565-9860

• NewYork (212) 337-2378

• Philadelphia (215) 861-4900

• Atlanta (404) 562-2300

• Chicago (312) 353-2220

• Dallas (972) 850-4145

• Kansas City (816) 283-8745

• Denver (720) 264-6550

• San Francisco (415) 625-2547

• Seattle (206) 553-5930

Addresses, fax numbers and other contact information for these offices can be found on OSHA’s website,

www.osha.gov, and in local directories. Some complaints must be filed in writing and some may be filed

verbally (call your local OSHA office for assistance).

Written complaints may be filed by mail (we recommend certified mail), fax, or hand-delivered during

business hours. The date postmarked, faxed or handdelivered is considered the date filed.

If retaliation for protected activity relating to occupational safety and health issues takes place in a state

that operates an OSHA-approved state plan, the complaint should be filed with the state agency, although

persons in those states may file with Federal OSHA at

the same time. Although the Occupational Safety and

Whistleblower Laws Enforced by OSHA

Each law requires that complaints be filed within a

certain number of days after the alleged retaliation.

You may file complaints by telephone or in writing

under the:

• Occupational Safety and Health Act (30 days)

• SurfaceTransportation Assistance Act

(180 days)

• Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act

(90 days)

• International Safe Container Act (60 days)

• Federal Rail Safety Act (180 days)

• NationalTransit Systems Security Act (180 days)

Under the following laws, complaints must be filed in

writing:

• Clean Air Act (30 days)

• Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act (30 days)

• Energy Reorganization Act (180 days)

• Federal Water Pollution Control Act (30 days)

• Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (180 days)

• Safe Drinking Water Act (30 days)

• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (90 days)

• Solid Waste Disposal Act (30 days)

• Toxic Substances Control Act (30 days)

• Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform

Act for the 21st Century (90 days)

Unfavorable Personnel Actions

Your employer may be found to have retaliated

against you if your protected activity was a contributing or motivating factor in its decision to take unfavorable personnel action against you.

Such actions may include:

• Firing or laying off

• Blacklisting

• Demoting

• Denying overtime or promotion

• Disciplining

FactSheet

Your Rights as a Whistleblower

You may file a complaint with OSHA if your employer retaliates against you by taking unfavorable personnel action because you engaged in protected activity relating to workplace

safety and health, commercial motor carrier safety, pipeline safety, air carrier safety,

nuclear safety, the environment, asbestos in schools, corporate fraud, SEC rules or

regulations, railroad carrier safety or security, or public transportation agency safety

or security.
Health Act covers only private sector employees, state

plans also cover state and local government employees. For details, see http://www.osha.gov/fso/osp/

index.html.

How OSHA Determines Whether Retaliation

Took Place

The investigation must reveal that:

• The employee engaged in protected activity;

• The employer knew about the protected activity;

• The employer took an adverse action; and

• The protected activity was the motivating factor (or

under some laws, a contributing factor) in the decision to take the adverse action against the employee.

If the evidence supports the employee’s allegation

and a settlement cannot be reached, OSHA will issue

an order requiring the employer to reinstate the

employee, pay back wages, restore benefits, and

other possible remedies to make the employee whole.

Limited Protections for Employees

Who Refuse to Work

You have a limited right under the OSH Act to refuse

to do a job because conditions are hazardous. You

may do so under the OSH Act only when (1) you

believe that you face death or serious injury (and the

situation is so clearly hazardous that any reasonable

person would believe the same thing); (2) you have

tried to get your employer to correct the condition,

and there is no other way to do the job safely; and (3)

the situation is so urgent that you do not have time to

eliminate the hazard through regulatory channels

such as calling OSHA.

Regardless of the unsafe condition, you are not protected if you simply walk off the job. For details, see

http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/refuse.html. OSHA

cannot enforce union contracts or state laws that give

employees the right to refuse to work.

Whistleblower Protections in

theTransportation Industry

Employees whose jobs directly affect commercial

motor vehicle safety are protected from retaliation by

their employers for refusing to violate or for reporting

violations of Department of Transportation (DOT)

motor carrier safety standards or regulations, or refusing to operate a vehicle because of such violations or

because they have a reasonable apprehension of

death or serious injury.

Similarly, employees of air carriers, their contractors

or subcontractors who raise safety concerns or report

violations of FAA rules and regulations are protected

from retaliation, as are employees of owners and

operators of pipelines, their contractors and subcontractors who report violations of pipeline safety rules

and regulations. Employees involved in international

shipping who report unsafe shipping containers are

also protected. In addition, employees of railroad carriers or public transportation agencies, their contractors or subcontractors who report safety or security

conditions or violations of federal rules and regulations relating to railroad or public transportation safety or security are protected from retaliation.

Whistleblower Protections for

Voicing Environmental Concerns

A number of laws protect employees who report violations of environmental laws related to drinking

water and water pollution, toxic substances, solid

waste disposal, air quality and air pollution, asbestos

in schools, and hazardous waste disposal sites. The

Energy Reorganization Act protects employees who

raise safety concerns in the nuclear power industry

and in nuclear medicine.

Whistleblower Protections When Reporting

Corporate Fraud

Employees who work for publicly traded companies

or companies required to file certain reports with the

Securities and Exchange Commission are protected

from retaliation for reporting alleged mail, wire, or

bank fraud; violations of rules or regulations of the

SEC, or federal laws relating to fraud against shareholders.

More Information

To obtain more information on whistleblower laws,

go to www.osha.gov, and click on the link for

“Whistleblower Protection.”

This is one in a series of informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies or

standards. It does not impose any new compliance requirements. For a comprehensive list of

compliance requirements of OSHA standards or regulations, refer to Title 29 of the Code of Federal

Regulations. This information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.

The voice phone is (202) 693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) number: (877) 889-5627.

U.S. Department of Labor

www.osha.gov

(800) 321-OSHA

For more complete information:

DEP 11/2007