Filing Whistleblower Complaints Related 

to COVID-19 

Employees are protected from retaliation for raising workplace health and safety 

concerns relating to COVID-19, reporting cases of the illness to their employers 

under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and engaging in certain other 

activities related to COVID-19.

1. Federal employees are protected from retaliation for occupational safety or health activity under procedures established by their agencies 

pursuant to Executive Order 12196. See 29 CFR 1960.46-47. They are also protected from retaliation for whistleblowing under the Whistleblower 

Protection Act. For more information visit www.osc.gov. Similar protections are provided by State laws in States operating OSHA-approved State 

Plans. See below for more information on State Plans.

COVID-19

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 

Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that 

causes COVID-19, is highly infectious and can 

spread from person to person, including through 

aerosol transmission of particles produced when 

an infected person exhales, talks, vocalizes, 

sneezes, or coughs. The virus that causes 

COVID-19 is highly transmissible and can be 

spread by people who have no symptoms. 

Particles containing the virus can travel more 

than 6 feet, especially indoors and in dry 

conditions (relative humidity below 40%), and 

can be spread by individuals who do not know 

they are infected.

Protection from Retaliation

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH 

Act) prohibits retaliation against employees for 

exercising a variety of rights guaranteed under 

the Act. Specifically, Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, 

as well as anti-retaliation provisions included 

in certain OSHA rules, protect employees from 

retaliation for exercising these rights.

Who Is Protected? 

Section 11(c) protects employees of “a person 

engaged in a business affecting interstate 

commerce.” It does not cover employees of the 

U.S. government or State or local government 

employees.1 However, it does cover U.S. Postal 

Service employees.

What Activities Are Protected?

A person may not discharge or in any manner 

retaliate against an employee because the 

employee exercised any right under the OSH Act. 

Here are some examples of COVID-19-related 

activities that are protected under Section 11(c): 

• Requesting personal protective equipment 

which the employee reasonably believes is 

required by an OSHA standard.

• Wearing personal protective equipment 

required by an OSHA standard.

• Reporting a COVID-19 infection or exposure to 

COVID-19 to an employer or OSHA.

• Reporting an unsafe condition to an employer 

or OSHA.

• Requesting guidance on workplace 

safety from an employer, OSHA, or other 

government entity.

• Refusing to perform a work task if: the 

employee has a reasonable apprehension of 

death or serious injury, refuses in good faith 

to perform the task, there is no alternative 

assignment and there is insufficient time 

to have Federal or State OSHA or another 

agency conduct an inspection or where such 

an inspection has already taken place; and, 

where possible, the employee has asked 

their employer to correct the hazard and it 

was not corrected. For more information: 

www.osha.gov/workers.

FactSheet
What Is Retaliation?

Retaliation is an adverse action against an 

employee because of activity protected by 

the OSH Act. Here are some examples of 

adverse actions:

• Firing or laying off 

• Demoting

• Denying overtime or promotion

• Disciplining

• Denying benefits

• Failure to hire or rehire

• Intimidation or harassment

• Making threats

• Reassignment to a less desirable position or 

actions affecting promotion prospects

• Reducing pay or hours

• More subtle actions, such as isolating, 

ostracizing, mocking, or falsely accusing the 

employee of poor performance 

• Blacklisting (intentionally interfering with an 

employee’s ability to obtain future employment) 

• Constructive discharge (quitting when an 

employer makes working conditions intolerable 

due to the employee’s protected activity) 

• Reporting the employee to the police or 

immigration authorities

Deadline for Filing Retaliation Complaints

OSHA administers more than twenty 

whistleblower statutes with varying time limits 

for filing.

Complaints under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act 

must be filed within 30 days after the employee 

learns of the adverse action. The filing date is 

the date of the postmark, facsimile, electronic 

communication, telephone call, or delivery to a 

third-party commercial carrier. 

How to File an 11(c) Complaint

If an employee believes they have been 

retaliated against in violation of Section 11(c), 

they, or their representative, may file a complaint 

with OSHA. Complaints may be filed verbally or 

in writing.

To file a complaint verbally: Visit a local area 

office or call OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742). 

Information on local area offices is available 

at www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate or can 

be obtained by calling OSHA at the above 

phone number.

To file a complaint in writing: Send a written 

complaint to the closest OSHA regional 

or area office by U.S. mail (confirmation 

services recommended), other third-party 

commercial carrier, facsimile, or electronically. 

Electronic complaints can be submitted at 

www.whistleblowers.gov/complaint_page. 

No particular form is required and complaints 

may be submitted in any language.

In the 22 states with OSHA-approved State Plans 

which cover the private sector, employees may 

file a complaint under Section 11(c) of the OSH 

Act or a complaint under the State’s analogous 

whistleblower provision or both. The complaint 

with Federal OSHA must be filed within 30 days of 

the unfavorable employment action. The complaint 

filed with the State agency must be filed within 

the time limit prescribed by State law. State and 

local government employees in these States, and 

in the six States with State Plans covering only 

State and local government employees, may only 

file occupational safety or health retaliation claims 

with the State agencies. For a list of State Plans, 

please visit: www.osha.gov/stateplans.

What Happens After Filing?

OSHA will review filed complaints to determine 

whether it is appropriate to conduct a factfinding investigation. In making this decision, 

OSHA considers factors such as whether the 

complaint was timely filed and whether the 

allegation is covered by Section 11(c) or any 

other relevant OSHA whistleblower statute. 

All Section 11(c) complaints are investigated 

according to requirements in 29 CFR Part 1977.

What to Do about a Dangerous Situation 

at Work

If possible, OSHA recommends that employees 

notify their employers of any unsafe or 

unhealthful working conditions, e.g., potential 

exposure to COVID-19. Promptly alerting 

employers about safety and health issues may 

help avoid a situation where employees are 

faced with either refusing to perform a task or 

exposing themselves to a serious hazard. 

Workers may file a complaint with OSHA 

concerning a hazardous working condition at 

any time. For information on occupational safety 

and health laws, standards, and regulations, visit 

OSHA’s website: www.osha.gov.
Results of the Section 11(c) Investigation

If OSHA proceeds with an investigation and 

the evidence supports an employee’s claim of 

retaliation and a voluntary settlement cannot 

be reached with the employer, the Secretary 

of Labor, through the Office of the Solicitor of 

Labor (SOL), may litigate the case in U.S. District 

Court. The Secretary may seek relief to make the 

employee whole, including:

• Reinstatement.

• Payment of back pay with interest. 

• Compensation with interest for expenses 

the employee may have incurred as a result 

of the retaliation. 

• Compensation for emotional distress.

• Punitive damages.

• Non-monetary relief.

If the OSHA Regional Administrator whose office 

investigated the case finds that the evidence does 

not support an employee’s claim of retaliation, 

the Regional Administrator will dismiss the 

complaint. The employee may seek review of that 

dismissal by the Directorate of Whistleblower 

Protection Programs (DWPP) in Washington, 

D.C. by filing a request for such review within 15 

calendar days of the employee’s receipt of the 

dismissal letter. The employee must send a copy 

of this request to the Regional Administrator. 

To Get Further Information

For a copy of Section 11(c) of the OSH Act 

(29 U.S.C. § 660(c)), the regulations (29 CFR 

Part 1977), 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 statues that OSHA 

enforces, view our “Whistleblower Statutes 

Summary Chart” at www.whistleblowers.gov/

whistleblower_acts-desk_reference. You can 

also call OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) if you 

have questions or need more information.

OSHA’s COVID-19 resources can be found at 

www.osha.gov/coronavirus, HHS’s COVID-19 

resources can be found at www.hhs.gov, 

and the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention’s COVID-19 resources can be found 

at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov.

Under the OSH Act, employers are responsible 

for providing safe and healthful workplaces 

for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help 

ensure these conditions for America’s workers 

by setting and enforcing standards, and 

providing training, education, and assistance. 

Employers must comply with all applicable 

OSHA standards. Where there are no applicable 

standards, employers must comply with the 

General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, which 

requires employers to keep their workplace 

free of serious recognized hazards. For more 

information, visit www.osha.gov.

DWPP FS-4151 09/2021

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: 1-877-889-5627.