STOP! If you are requesting forms or publications, have a workplace safety and health related or recordkeeping question, or are having difficulty navigating our website, want to report a broken link, or have some other technical question, find your topic in the "Site Index A-Z" link above or the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. If you are sure that you have an Information Quality Correction Request, proceed as outlined below.
OSHA's Information Quality Assurance Process
OSHA has adopted well-established quality assurance techniques to ensure the quality of information disseminated. Information is subject to internal agency quality control and audit, and any appropriate Department level reviews, before being disseminated to the public. When OSHA posts information on its website, it adheres to DOL's Public Web Site Review and Clearance Process. OSHA's quality assurance techniques and methods include reviewing the information prior to official release to ensure that erroneous data are not released or to identify data of marginal quality.
As part of its commitment to information quality, OSHA encourages communication with its users. OSHA fosters discussions with the public at large by making it easy to reach staff by a variety of formats, including phone, mail, and E-mail. OSHA encourages those with questions or concerns about information the agency publishes to notify the contact person specifically identified in most published documents. In addition, through this Information Quality Correction Request (IQCR) link, the public can take an active hand in helping OSHA improve the quality of its data by challenging the information disseminated.
In general, these are the types of information for which an Information Quality Correction Request may NOT be filed:
- Information intended to be limited to distribution to government employees, or DOL contractors, or grantees;
- Government information intended to be limited to intra- or inter-agency use or sharing of information; such as, strategic plans, performance plans, program reports, operating plans or budgets;
- Responses to requests for Departmental records under the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, or other similar laws;
- Correspondence or other communications with individuals or organizations;
- Press releases (except where the press release itself is the primary source of the information);
- Congressional testimony;
- Archival records;
- Public filings;
- Subpoenas or adjudicative processes;
- Information clearly represented as opinion and not an official agency or Departmental representation;
- Policy guidance recommendations or statements or summaries of agency policies, procedures, or programs;
- Statements of legal policy or interpretation; and
- Final agency decisions, settlements in litigation and descriptions of these settlements, or determinations of legal force and effect, such as wage determinations.
Filing an Information Quality Correction Request (IQCR) and Appeal on OSHA information, data, facts, and figures.
How to submit an Information Quality Correction Request to OSHA:
Persons who believe that OSHA has disseminated information that does not meet its guidelines, or those of the DOL or OMB and who wish to follow a formal complaint process, may send their Information Quality Correction Request to: John D. Smith, Deputy Director, OSHA Directorate of Evaluation and Analysis; 200 Constitution AV, NW; Washington, DC 20210. Or they may communicate directly with Mr. Smith via telephone at 202-693-2244. Or they may send their complaint by E-mail by clicking on the OSHA Point of Contact, Robert Pitulej, given in the chart on the next page. Information Quality
In filing an Information Quality Correction Request (IQCR) to OSHA, please include the following:
- Identify yourself and indicate how and where you can be reached;
- The specific information about which the complaint is being filed;
- How the specific information about which the IQCR is being registered adversely affects you, the complainant;
- A clear and precise explanation of the nature of the complaint, including why you, the complainant, believe that the information does not comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Departmental, or OSHA's specific guidelines; and,
- A description of the change requested and the reason(s) why OSHA should make the change.
Note: Failure to provide this information may result in a complainant not receiving a response to the Information Quality Correction Request and/or greatly reduce the usefulness or timeliness of any response. Complainants should be aware that they bear the burden of establishing that they are the affected persons and showing the need and justification for the correction that they are seeking, including why the information being complained about does not comply with the DOL/OSHA Information Quality Guidelines.
How to make an administrative appeal:
If a complainant is dissatisfied with the initial response to an OSHA Information Quality Correction Request, s/he may submit an administrative appeal to OSHA. The appeal must be filed within either forty-five (45) days of the date that the agency notified them how it would handle the complaint or one hundred and five (105) days from the date on which the agency first received the complaint, whichever is later. The appeal request should contain the same contact and descriptive information that was provided in the original complaint and the specific reasons why the initial agency response was not satisfactory. Once an appeal decision has been rendered OSHA will notify the complainant.
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
