National Labor Relations Board and OSHA partner to extend Whistleblower reporting deadlines on site safety complaints.

OSHA has issued a Decision on Referring Untimely 11(c) Complainants to the National Labor Relations Board (Decision), OM-14-60 (May 21, 2014). 

Whistleblowers that fail to file safety complaints with OSHA within the mandatory 30 day timeline will be notified by the National Labor Relations Board of their right to file a similar charge with the NLRB.

The NLRB has entered into a program with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). During the OSHA intake process, complainants seeking to assert an OSHA whistleblower claim often learn that their charge would be untimely under Section 11(c) of OSHA, which establishes a 30-day statute of limitations. In these situations, the complainants either decline to file charges or their charges are dismissed because they were filed outside of the 30-day period. OSHA estimates that this happens in 300 to 600 cases each year. It is likely that some of these cases may also raise claims arising under the National Labor Relations Act; for example, instances of employer retaliation for group complaints concerning unsafe working conditions. These complaints may still be timely under our six-month statute of limitations. To address these situations, on March 6, 2014, OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels signed a memorandum, a copy of which is attached, agreeing to notify all complainants who file an untimely whistleblower charge of their right to file a charge with the NLRB.

OM 14-60

OSHA referred charges

05/21/2014

OM 14-60 Attachment 1	Approved OSHA Decision	05/21/2014
OM 14-60 Attachment 2	Draft 11(c) Untimely Administrative Closure Letter	05/21/2014
OM 14-60 Attachment 3	Draft OSHA Talking Points Referrals to NLRB	05/21/2014