FactSheet

Filing Whistleblower Complaints under the 

Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA)

Workers in the consumer financial product and service industries are protected 

from retaliation for reporting violations of the CFPA or any other provision of law 

that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

(the Bureau).

Covered Persons and Employees

CFPA prohibits “covered person[s] and service 

provider[s]” from retaliating against “covered 

employee[s]” for engaging in protected activity. 

A “covered person” is “any person that engages 

in offering or providing a consumer financial 

product or service” and “any affiliate of [such] a 

person... if [the] affiliate acts as a service provider 

to such person.”

A “consumer financial product or service” 

includes a wide variety of financial products 

or services offered or provided for use by 

consumers primarily for personal, family, 

or household purposes, such as residential 

mortgage lending and servicing, private student 

lending and servicing, payday lending, consumer 

credit reporting, credit cards and related 

activities, prepaid debit cards, and more. For 

more information on consumer financial products 

and services, visit www.consumerfinance.gov. 

A “covered employee” is “any individual 

performing tasks related to the offering or 

provision of a consumer financial product or 

service.” 

Protected Activity

CFPA protects covered employees of a covered 

person[s] from retaliation for: 

•	 providing information relating to any violation 

of the CFPA or any other provision of law that 

is subject to the jurisdiction of the Bureau, 

or any rule, order, standard, or prohibition 

prescribed by the Bureau, to:

− their employer, 

− the Bureau, or 

− any other Federal, state, or local government 

authority or law enforcement agency;

•	 testifying in, filing, or instituting proceedings 

under any of these provisions; or

•	 objecting or refusing to participate in any 

conduct that the employee reasonably believes 

violates any of these provisions. 

Employees who believe they have been retaliated 

against in violation of CFPA may file a complaint 

with OSHA. See “How to File a CFPA Complaint,” 

below, for details.

What is Retaliation?

Retaliation is not limited to firing an employee. 

Retaliation can include several types of actions, 

such as:

•	 Firing or laying off

•	 Reducing pay or hours

•	 Reassigning 

•	 Demoting

•	 Denying overtime or promotion

•	 Disciplining

•	 Denying benefits

•	 Failing to hire or rehire

•	 Blacklisting

•	 Intimidating

•	 Making threats

Time Limits for Filing Complaints 

An employee, or representative of an employee, 

who believes that he or she has been retaliated 

against in violation of CFPA may file a complaint 

with OSHA. Complaints must be filed within 180 

days after the alleged retaliatory action.

How to File a CFPA Complaint 

An employee can file a CFPA complaint with 

OSHA by visiting or calling his or her local OSHA 

office, sending a written complaint to the closest 

OSHA office, or filing a complaint online. No 
particular form is required and complaints may 

be submitted in any language. 

Written complaints may be filed by fax, 

electronic communication, hand delivery during 

business hours, U.S. mail (confirmation services 

recommended), or other third-party commercial 

carrier. 

The date of the postmark, fax, electronic 

communication, telephone call, hand delivery, 

delivery to a third-party commercial carrier, or 

in-person filing at an OSHA office is considered 

the date filed. 

To file a complaint electronically, please visit 

www.whistleblowers.gov/complaint_page.html.

To contact an OSHA area office, please call 1-800-

321-OSHA (6742) for the closest area office, or 

visit our website at www.osha.gov/html/RAmap.

html and click on Regional/Area offices to find 

your local office address and contact information. 

When OSHA receives a complaint, the agency 

will first review it to determine whether certain 

basic requirements are met, such as whether the 

complaint was filed on time. If so, the complaint 

will then be investigated using the procedures 

required by the CFPA. See 29 CFR 1985.104.

Results of the Investigation

If the evidence supports an employee’s claim of 

retaliation, OSHA will issue an order requiring the 

employer to put the employee back to work, pay 

lost wages, restore benefits, and provide other 

relief, as appropriate. The exact requirements will 

depend on the facts of the case. If the evidence 

does not support the employee’s claim, OSHA 

will dismiss the complaint. 

After OSHA issues a decision, the employer 

and/or the employee may request a full hearing 

before an administrative law judge of the U.S. 

Department of Labor. A final decision by an 

administrative law judge may be appealed to the 

Department’s Administrative Review Board. 

The employee may also file a complaint in 

federal court if the Department of Labor does not 

issue a final decision within certain time limits. 

Details on this provision can be found in OSHA’s 

regulations, at 29 CFR 1985.114. 

To Get Further Information 

For a copy of CFPA, the regulations (29 CFR 

Part 1985) and other information, go to www.

whistleblowers.gov. 

OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program 

enforces the whistleblower provisions of more 

than twenty federal whistleblower laws. To 

learn more about the whistleblower statutes 

which OSHA enforces, view our “Whistleblower 

Statutes Desk Aid” at www.whistleblowers.gov/

whistleblower_acts-desk_reference.pdf.

For information on the Department of Labor’s Office 

of Administrative Law Judges procedures and case 

law research materials, go to www.oalj.dol.gov and 

click on the link for “Whistleblower Collection.”

For information on the Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, visit www.consumerfinance.gov. 

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.

DWPP FS-3720 04/2014