- Employees can request review of dismissals of cases filed under:
- Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSH Act)
- International Safe Container Act (ISCA)
- Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)
Complainants must submit a request in writing for review within 15 calendar days of receipt of OSHA’s findings to:
Director
Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs
U.S. Department of Labor-OSHA
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Rm N-4618
Washington, DC 20210
The party must also send a copy of the letter to the region that investigated the case.
If requested, the Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs (DWPP) will review the case file in order to ascertain whether the investigation dealt adequately with all factual issues and the investigation was conducted fairly and in accordance with applicable laws. Under these three laws, complainants do not have the right to file an objection with the Office of Administrative Law Judges of the Department of Labor. Instead, they must file a request for review with DWPP.
Cases filed under all other whistleblower laws* administered by OSHA:
Either party can object to OSHA’s findings and request a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Objections must be made within 30 calendar days (60 calendar days for Pipeline Safety Improvement Act cases) of receipt of OSHA’s findings. To object, the party must send a letter to:
Chief Administrative Law Judge
Office of Administrative Law Judges
U.S. Department of Labor
800 K Street NW, Suite 400 North
Washington, DC 20001-8002
Phone: (202) 693-7300
Fax: (202) 693-7365
The party must also send a copy of the letter to the other party in the case and to the OSHA regional office that investigated the case.
Please be advised that OSHA generally does not participate in the hearing. Instead, each party presents his or her own case. In whistleblower cases before administrative law judges (ALJs), OSHA, particularly cases under the Seaman's Protection Act and the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, represented by a Department of Labor attorney, may participate.
The hearing is an adversarial proceeding before an ALJ in which the parties are allowed an opportunity to present their evidence for the record. The ALJ who conducts the hearing will issue a decision based on the evidence and arguments presented by the parties. Review of the ALJ’s decision may be sought from the Administrative Review Board (ARB), which has discretion to accept or reject a case for review. Final ARB decisions and ALJ decisions that the ARB has declined to review may be appealed to an appropriate United States court of appeals.
*Affordable Care Act; Clean Air Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; Consumer Financial Protection Act; Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act; Energy Reorganization Act; FDA Food Safety Modernization Act; Federal Railroad Safety Act; Federal Water Pollution Control Act; Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act; National Transit Systems Security Act; Pipeline Safety Improvement Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; Sarbanes-Oxley Act; Seaman’s Protection Act; Solid Waste Disposal Act; Surface Transportation Assistance Act; Taxpayer First Act; Toxic Substances Control Act; and Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century Act.