OSHA whistleblower protection Archives

Does a retaliatory investigation of a whistleblower violate whistleblower retaliation laws?

Retaliatory Investigations Against Whistleblowers Under certain whistleblower protection laws, a retaliatory investigation can be actionable. Two cases decided under the Federal Rail Safety Act … Continued

Does OSHA protect the confidentiality of a witness in an OSHA whistleblower investigation?

OSHA is required to protect the confidentiality of a witness in a whistleblower investigation to the fullest extent possible under the law. In fact, where witnesses wish to remain confidential in an OSHA investigation, the investigator is required at the start of the interview to say, “Your interview will be protected to the fullest extent of the law.” See US DOL Memo, Clarification of the Express Promise of Confidentiality Prior to Confidential Witness Interviews, https://www.whistleblowers.gov/memo/2016-07-15.

Does the Sarbanes-Oxley Act protect whistleblowing about potential violations of federal securities laws?

A SOX retaliation plaintiff need not demonstrate that they disclosed an actual violation of securities law; only that they reasonably believed that their employer was defrauding shareholders or violating an SEC rule. Indeed, a reasonable but mistaken belief is protected under SOX. “To demonstrate that a plaintiff engaged in a protected activity, a plaintiff must show that [s]he had both a subjective belief and an objectively reasonable belief that the conduct [s]he complained of constituted a violation of relevant law.”