Below is an excerpt of an article that was published in ISHN on October 14, 2021.
Most workers in the United States are protected from retaliation for raising workplace health and safety concerns and for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. While these protections have been in place for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a record number of complaints from covered employees claiming retaliation by their employer. Since February 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has received nearly 6,000 whistleblower complaints related to COVID-19 (and OSHA-approved State Plans have received more than 2,000 additional complaints), representing a dramatic increase. Because employee complaints are one of the major triggers for OSHA investigations, it is likely that a whistleblower complaint will lead to an OSHA inspection and investigation. For this, and other reasons, employers should be aware of OSHA’s anti-retaliation law and how to avoid triggering retaliation claims. Read the full article.