FactSheet

Filing Whistleblower Complaints under the 

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Employees who work for entities engaged in the manufacture, processing, packing, 

transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food are protected 

from retaliation for reporting alleged violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act (FD&C).

Covered Entities

Section 402 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization 

Act (FSMA) prohibits entities engaged in 

manufacturing, processing, packing, transporting, 

distributing, receiving, holding, or importing food 

from retaliating against employees for engaging 

in certain protected activities, including reporting 

alleged violations of the FD&C. 

Protected Activity

FSMA protects employees of covered entities 

from retaliation for:

•	 providing information relating to any violation 

of the FD&C or any act that he or she reasonably 

believed to be a violation of the FD&C to:

− the employer,

− the Federal Government, or

− the attorney general of a state 

•	 testifying, assisting, or participating in a 

proceeding concerning a violation of the FD&C; or

•	 objecting to or refusing to participate in any 

activity that he or she reasonably believed to 

be in violation of the FD&C.

Employees who believe they have been retaliated 

against in violation of FSMA may file a complaint 

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

to the right, 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

•	 Blacklisting

•	 Demoting

•	 Denying overtime or promotion

•	 Disciplining

•	 Denying benefits

•	 Failing to hire or rehire

•	 Intimidating

•	 Making threats

•	 Reassigning

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 FSMA may file a complaint 

with OSHA. Complaints must be filed within 180 

days after the alleged retaliatory action. 

How to File a FSMA Complaint

An employee can file a FSMA 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.

osha.gov/whistleblower/WBComplaint.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/oshdir.

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 FSMA. See 29 CFR 1987.104.

Results of the Investigation

If the evidence supports an employee’s claim of 

retaliation, OSHA will issue an order requiring the 

employer to, as appropriate, put the employee 

back to work, pay lost wages, restore benefits, 

and other possible relief. 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 Department 

of Labor. The administrative law judge’s decision 

may be appealed to the Labor Department’s 

Administrative Review Board. 

The employee may also file a complaint in federal 

court if the U.S. 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 1987.114. 

To Get Further Information 

For a copy of Section 402 of the FDA Food Safety 

Modernization Act, the regulations (29 CFR 

Part 1987) 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 U.S. 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 Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act, go to www.fda.gov and click on 

this Act in the A to Z Index .

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-3714 02/2014