Whistleblowers can now fill out an online form to report illegal employer actions against them to the U.S. government. The new “Online Whistleblower Complaint Form” has been launched by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The whistleblower’s form permits an employee to easily fill out the application online, says OSHA. There are over 20 U.S. laws that protect workers who blow the whistle on illegal actions by their employers or by certain managers. If the illegal conduct is governed by one of these U.S. laws, then an employer also breaks the law when going after the whistleblower. Called “retaliation,” illegal retaliation includes demoting, threatening, cutting pay, cutting hours, firing an employee, and other hurtful actions. OSHA’s new online form centralizes the complaint process, and OSHA states that it routes the complaints to the correct regional investigators. “The ability of workers to speak out and exercise their rights without fear of retaliation provides the backbone for some of American workers' most essential protections," says Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels supporting OSHA’s new online complaint form in a press release. OSHA manages an online resource whistleblowers with more information about various protection laws, at Whisteblowers.gov. Law firms, like us at Lebau & Neuworth, LLC, also know what next steps to take when a whistleblower has already taken steps to protect society, and stop illegal conduct, and now needs to protect themselves.
