As the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) beefs up its whistleblower program, employers should brace themselves for more claims and investigations. Over the last year, OSHA has been developing a “multifaceted plan for strengthening the enforcement of 21 whistleblower laws under its jurisdiction.” The changes follow reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found problems with transparency, accountability, training, internal communications and audits in OSHA’s whistleblower program.
OSHA has restructured its whistleblower program and has made changes to its program policy, training and internal systems. For example, OSHA recently announced that the Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program would report directly to the Labor Department’s Office of the Assistant Secretary, rather than the Directorate of Enforcement Programs. The DOL called the restructuring a “significantly elevated priority status for whistleblower enforcement.”