Dive Brief:
- Employers along the country's west coast currently are now part of a U.S. Department of Labor project called the “Expedited Case Processing Pilot,” which allows a complainant (aka whistleblowers covered by certain statutes) to ask OSHA to cease its investigation and issue findings for the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges to consider.
- Specifically, the option is possible only if the case meets certain criteria, and administrative law judges may order the same remedies as OSHA, including back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages where authorized, attorneys’ fees and reinstatement.
- The Labor Dept. admits that OSHA’s current investigation process can take time, so "whistleblowers" may be able to receive a determination more quickly without losing their rights to a hearing by electing to expedite OSHA’s processing of their claims.
Dive Insight:
Barbara Goto, OSHA’s regional administrator in San Francisco, said the ultimate goal is to bring about quicker resolution for whistleblowers and their employers regarding claims of retaliation for reporting safety and other concerns on the job.
The pilot became effective Aug. 1 in the agency’s San Francisco region, which includes California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and the islands of American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. Once a whistleblower requests expedited processing, the case will be assessed on several criteria, including (depending on the statute) if 30 or 60 days have passed from the date the complainant first filed with the claim with OSHA, federal investigators have evaluated the complaint and the complainant’s interview to determine if the basic elements of a retaliation claim exist, and others.
Once OSHA officials determine that these criteria are met, they will take one of three actions: dismiss the claim and inform the complainant of the right to proceed before an administrative law judge; issue merit findings as expeditiously as possible; or deny the request.