Employee Rights
Employees have the right to complain to their employers, their unions, OSHA, or other governmental agency about workplace safety hazards. Section 11(c) of the OSHA Act of 1970 makes it illegal for employees to be discriminated against for exercising their rights and for participating in other job safety-related activities.
These activities include for example:
- Complaining individually or with others directly to management concerning job safety conditions
- Filing of formal complaints with government agencies, such as OSHA or state safety and health agencies, fire departments, etc. (An employee’s name is kept confidential)
- Participating in union committees or other workplace committees concerning safety and/or health matters
- Testifying before any panel, agency, or court of law concerning job hazards
- Participating in walk-around inspections
- Filing complaints under Section 11(c) and giving evidence in connection with these complaints
Employees also cannot be punished for refusing a work assignment if they have a reasonable belief that it would put them in danger or cause serious physical harm, provided that they have requested the employer to remove the danger and the employer has refused; and provided that the danger cannot be eliminated quickly enough through normal OSHA enforcement procedures.
If an employee is punished or discriminated against in anyway for exercising their rights under the OSH Act, the employee should report it to OSHA within 30 days. OSHA will investigate the report. If the employee has been illegally punished, OSHA will seek appropriate relief for the employee and if necessary will go to court to protect the rights of the employee. This information can be found at the The Whistleblower Protection Program page.
