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This document is a summary of a printed document. The printed document may contain charts and photographs which are not reproduced in this electronic version. If you require the printed version of this document, contact the Freedom of Information Act Officer, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC 20210, or call (202) 693-5116. This report reflects the findings of the Office of Inspector General at the time that the audit report was issued. More current information may be available as a result of the resolution of this audit by the Department of Labor program agency and the auditee. For further information concerning the resolution of this report's findings, please contact the program agency. OIG has started using Acrobat 4.0 to prepare it's latest Audit reports. If you are experiencing problems downloading some of the larger PDF files, you may want to download the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking the link provided below.
As a result of a Letter of Interpretation (LI) on the OSHA website which was perceived to sanction Government intrusion into private homes, the OIG received a congressional request to provide an analysis and evaluation of the LI, which is now known as the Home Workplace Letter. We determined that OSHA needed stronger controls over the process of issuing LIs to ensure that such letters would not infer or communicate new policy to recipients or to the public. OSHA generally agreed with our recommendations and stated its intentions to improve its internal procedures. On November 15, 1999, OSHA issued a Letter of Interpretation (LI) to respond to an employer's inquiry of August 21, 1997. The employer asked for guidance on applying OSHA standards to employees working at home. This LI, the "Home Workplace Letter," was posted on OSHA's website and, in the words of the Secretary of Labor, "caused widespread confusion and unintended consequences." As a result, the interpretation was withdrawn. Congress was concerned over the guidance and clearance from DOL with regard to the events that led to the drafting and issuance of the LI. Our audit of OSHA's process for issuing LIs disclosed stronger processing controls are necessary to ensure such letters would not infer or communicate new policy to recipients or to the public. Among the control weaknesses we noted:
OSHA's response adequately addresses and resolves our audit recommendations.
We can close these recommendations after monitoring and reviewing implementation
of the Agency's corrective action plan.
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