Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

Plain Writing Act Compliance Report

April 11, 2014

 

I.         Senior Agency Official for Plain Writing:

Richard Huberman, Chief of Staff and Legal Counsel to Chairman

                  Plain Writing Contact:

                        John Cerveny, Acting Executive Secretary

                  Contact Information:

                        plain@oshrc.gov

II.       Explain what specific types of agency communications have you released bymaking them available in a format that is consistent with the Plain Writingguidelines.

| Type of communications ofdocument or posting. List how thisis made available to the public                           | Who is the intended user and approximatenumber of potential users                                             | What has changed by using PlainWriting             |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| Guide to Review CommissionProcedures

Available on OSHRC Website                                                     | Employers who may or may not be represented bylegal counsel                                                   | The documents are clearer andmore self-explanatory |
| Guide to Simplified Procedures

Available on OSHRC Website                                                           | Employers who may or may not be represented bylegal counsel                                                   |
| Employee Guide to ReviewCommission Procedures

Available on OSHRC Website                                            | Employees who wish to participate in a Commissionproceeding or who are contesting a proposedabatement period  |
| The Freedom of Information ActReference Guide

Available on OSHRC Website                                            | Anyone who is interested in submitting a FOIArequest to the Commission                                        |
| Press Releases

Available on OSHRC Website                                                                           | Anyone who is interested in Commission news andevents                                                         |
| Proposed Information Collectionon the Settlement Part program

Published in the Federal Register                     | Anyone who is interested in commenting on thesurvey of Settlement Part program participants                   |
| Commission Briefing Notices

Available on OSHRC Website                                                              | Anyone who is interested in the issues in cases at the 

Review Commission level                              | The documents are clearer andmore self-explanatory |
| Request for Public Comment on aReview Level Alternative DisputeResolution Program

Published in the Federal Register | Anyone who is interested in commenting on thecreation of a review level alternative disputeresolution program |
| Commission Subpoenas

Issued as necessary by CommissionAdministrative Law Judges                                     | Anyone who is requested to testify or provideevidence at Commission hearings                                  |

 

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

On June 24, 2011, the Senior Agency Official for Plain Writing informed all Commissionpersonnel by e-mail of the Plain Writing Act and its requirements. The email included links tovarious plain writing resources, including material posted on the Commission’s intranet. 

 

IV.      Training

   Since the last Plain Writing Act Compliance Report was published on April 12, 2013, theReview Commission provided the following training:

 

| Type of Training                                                                                       | Employees trained                               | Date                |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| Webinars and Online trainingprovided byplainlanguage.gov and hostedon the Commission’s intranet. | Available to all Commissionemployees            | Ongoing             |
| Judicial Writing                                                                                       | One employee                                    | July 8-11, 2013     |
| Technical Writing                                                                                      | One employee                                    | September 4-6, 2013 |
| Legal and Judicial WritingWorkshop                                                                     | All Commission attorneysand legal support staff | September 19, 2013  |

 

V.        Ongoing compliance/sustaining change

The Commission will stay in compliance with the Act by incorporating plainlanguage considerations in all documents that the Commission issues to the public.Most recently, the agency has modified the subpoenas issued by its AdministrativeLaw Judges to make the forms simpler and more self-explanatory.

 

VI.      Agency’s plain writing website

a.    Website address: http://www.oshrc.gov/open/plain_writing.html

b.    Implementation of the Act:  

The Commission will be using plain writing in any updates to documents mostoften read by the general public, such as our Guide to Review CommissionProcedures, Guide to Simplified Proceedings, Employee Guide to ReviewCommission Procedures, The Freedom of Information Act Reference Guide,Commission announcements and notices.

c.   Link to Compliance reports: Compliance reports will be available on theCommission’s Plain Writing website:(http://www.oshrc.gov/open/plain_writing.html).

d.   More information on Plain Writing may be obtained at the Plain Languagewebsite (http://www.plainlanguage.gov). 

 

VII.     Customer Satisfaction Evaluation after Experiencing Plain WritingCommunications

The Commission set up an e-mail address (plain@oshrc.gov) through which thepublic may contact us to let us know if they have trouble understanding ourdocuments or the pages on our website.  The Commission will monitor that e-mailaddress and will take appropriate action on all correspondence received.