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Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission 

Plain Writing Act Compliance Report 

April 13, 2018 

I. Senior Agency Official for Plain Writing: 

Donald G. Shalhoub, Chief Counsel to the Chairman 

 Plain Writing Contact: 

 John Cerveny, Executive Secretary 

 Contact Information: 

plain@oshrc.gov

II. Explain what specific types of agency communications you have released by 

making them available in a format that is consistent with the Plain Writing 

guidelines. 

Type of communications of 

document or posting. List how this 

is made available to the public

Who is the intended user and approximate 

number of potential users

What has changed by using Plain 

Writing

Guide to Review Commission 

Procedures

Available on OSHRC Website

Employers who may or may not be represented by 

legal counsel

The documents are clearer and 

more self-explanatory

Employee Guide to Review 

Commission Procedures

Available on OSHRC Website

Employees who wish to participate in a Commission 

proceeding or who are contesting a proposed 

abatement period

Guide to Simplified Proceedings

Available on OSHRC Website

Employers who may or may not be represented by 

legal counsel

The Freedom of Information Act 

Reference Guide

Available on OSHRC Website

Anyone who is interested in submitting a FOIA 

request to the Commission

Press Releases

Available on OSHRC Website

Anyone who is interested in Commission news and 

events

Commission Briefing Notices

Available on OSHRC Website

Anyone who is interested in the issues in cases at the 

Review Commission level

Commission Subpoenas

Issued as necessary by Commission 

Administrative Law Judges

Anyone who is requested to testify or provide 

evidence at Commission hearings
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Type of communications of 

document or posting. List how this 

is made available to the public

Who is the intended user and approximate 

number of potential users

What has changed by using Plain 

Writing

E-Filer User Guide

Available on OSHRC Website

Parties intending to file OSHRC case documents 

electronically

The documents are clearer and 

more self-explanatory

E-filer User Guide OSHA Area 

Offices

Available on OSHRC Website

OSHA Area Offices intending to file OSHRC case 

documents electronically

@OSHRC_Chairman Twitter 

account

Available at:

https://twitter.com/OSHRC_Chairman

Anyone who is interested in Commission news and 

events

E-Alert Service

Available by subscription through the 

OSHRC Website

Anyone who is interested in Commission news and 

events

III. Inform agency staff of Plain Writing Act’s requirements: 

On June 24, 2011, the Senior Agency Official for Plain Writing informed all Commission 

personnel by e-mail of the Plain Writing Act and its requirements. The email included links to 

various plain writing resources, including material posted on the Commission’s network. 

IV. Training 

 Since the last Plain Writing Act Compliance Report was published on April 13, 2017, the 

Review Commission provided the following training: 

Type of Training Employees trained Date

Webinars and online training

provided by 

plainlanguage.gov and hosted 

on the Commission’s 

network. 

Available to all Commission 

employees

Ongoing

Managing the Legal Writing 

of Others

One employee May 24, 2017

Twenty employees June 2, 2017

One employee July 27, 2017

How to Rate Performance 

and Write an Effective 

Narrative

One employee June 30, 2017

Three employees July 7, 2017

One employee October 3, 2017

One employee January 30, 2018
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Type of Training Employees trained Date

Ten Steps to Better Judicial 

Writing

One employee August 1, 2017 

One employee August 25, 2017

One employee September 30, 2017

Better Legal Memos One employee August 25, 2017

More Effective Writing 

Makes More Effective 

Lawyers

One employee August 25, 2017

The Writing Process: How to 

be Efficient & Productive

Two employees August 25, 2017

One employee September 30, 2017

Legal Writing and Editing at 

the Micro Level

Two employees August 31, 2017

Three employees On Demand

Legal Writing and Editing at 

the Macro Level

Three employees On Demand

Email and Memo Writing 

Techniques for Paralegals

One employee On Demand

Business Writing Basics for 

Professionals

One employee September 7, 2017

Federal Writing Boot Camp Two employees September 18-21, 2017 

One employee September 25-28, 2017

Judicial Writing with Prof. 

Tanya Bartholomew

One employee January 26, 2018

V. Ongoing compliance/sustaining change 

The Commission will stay in compliance with the Act by incorporating plain 

language considerations in all documents that the Commission issues to the public. 

VI. Agency’s plain writing website 

a. Website address: https://www.oshrc.gov/plain-writing/

b. Implementation of the Act: 

The Commission will be using plain writing in any updates to documents most 

often read by the general public, such as our Guide to Review Commission 

Procedures, Guide to Simplified Proceedings, Employee Guide to Review 

Commission Procedures, The Freedom of Information Act Reference Guide, 

and Commission announcements and notices. 
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c. Link to Compliance Reports: Compliance reports will be available on the 

Commission’s Plain Writing website: (https://www.oshrc.gov/plain-writing/). 

d. More information on Plain Writing may be obtained at the Plain Language 

website (http://www.plainlanguage.gov). 

VII. Customer Satisfaction Evaluation after Experiencing Plain Writing 

Communications 

The Commission set up an e-mail address (plain@oshrc.gov) through which the 

public may contact us to let us know if they have trouble understanding our 

documents or the pages on our website. The Commission will monitor that e-mail 

address and will take appropriate action on all correspondence received.