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File a discrimination complaint if your employer has retaliated against you for exercising your rights as an employee. If you have been punished or discriminated against for exercising your rights under the OSH Act, you must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days of the alleged reprisal. In states with approved state plans, employees may file a complaint under the OSH Act with both the State and Federal OSHA.

If you are filing a complaint under any other whistleblower statute enforced by OSHA, the time limit for filing varies by statute. Refer to the Summary of OSHA Whistleblower Statutes to determine the time limit that applies to your complaint.

You may file your discrimination complaint using any of these filing options:

ORALLY

1. Call your local OSHA Regional or Area Office. OSHA staff can discuss your complaint with you and respond to any questions you may have.

WRITTEN

2. You may also send a letter describing your complaint to your local OSHA Regional or Area Office. Please include your name, address and telephone number so we can contact you to follow up.

IN ANY LANGUAGE

OSHA will accept your complaint in any language.

OSHA conducts an interview with each complainant to determine the need for an investigation. If evidence supports the worker's claim of discrimination, OSHA will ask the employer to restore the worker's job, earnings and benefits.

The procedures for investigations of discrimination complaints are contained in the OSHA Whistleblower Investigations Manual: CPL 02-03-003 [PDF*, 1.0 Mb]