A Bloomberg-BNA article entitled New Whistle-Blower Investigation Guidance From OSHA quotes leading whistleblower lawyer Jason Zuckerman about OSHA’s revised standard governing investigations of the whistleblower protection laws that OSHA enforces.
The article reports that OSHA has issued a revised Whistleblower Investigations Manual that defines “reasonable cause” as “somewhat lower than the preponderance of the evidence standard that applies following a hearing.” “The evidence does not need to establish conclusively that a violation did occur,” but instead must suffice to show “that a reasonable judge could believe a violation occurred.”
The article quotes Zuckerman’s analysis of the potential impact of the revised standard:
Jason Zuckerman, an attorney and principal of Zuckerman Law who represents whistle-blowers, told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 2 that the manual is consistent with last year’s memorandum.
“This clarification of the reasonable cause standard is critical to avoid a misperception by investigators that they need ‘smoking gun’ evidence in order to issue a merit finding,” Zuckerman said.
During the investigative stage, the whistle-blower is at a significant disadvantage, compared with the employer, because the whistle-blower lacks access to documents and witnesses, Zuckerman said. It’s appropriate that a reasonable cause finding doesn’t necessarily require as much evidence as would be required at trial to establish unlawful retaliation by a preponderance of the evidence.
Click here to read more about the reasonable cause standard in OSHA whistleblower investigations.
Zuckerman Law represents whistleblower nationwide in whistleblower retaliation and whistleblower rewards claims. If you are seeking representation in a Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower case, click here, or call us at 202-262-8959 to schedule a free preliminary consultation.
Whistleblower Retaliation
Whistleblower Retaliation Lawyers
Leading whistleblower firm Zuckerman Law represents whistleblowers nationwide. If you are seeking representation in a whistleblower retaliation or whistleblower protection case, click here, or call our whistleblower retaliation lawyers at 202-262-8959 to schedule a confidential consultation. In 2019, the National Law Review awarded Jason Zuckerman its “Go-To Thought Leadership Award” for his analysis of developments in whistleblower law. We represent whistleblowers nationwide.
Click here to read reviews of our whistleblower retaliation lawyers from clients that we have represented in whistleblower rewards and whistleblower retaliation matters.
Guide to Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate Whistleblower Protection Law
The whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides robust protection to corporate whistleblowers, and indeed some SOX whistleblowers have achieved substantial recoveries. For example, a former in-house counsel at a biotechnology company recovered $11 million in a SOX whistleblower retaliation case alleging that the company fired him for disclosing violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
On the fifteenth anniversary of SOX, leading whistleblower law firm Zuckerman Law released a free guide to the SOX whistleblower protection law: “Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection: Robust Protection for Corporate Whistleblowers.” The guide summarizes SOX whistleblower protections and offers concrete tips for corporate whistleblowers based on lessons learned during years of litigating SOX whistleblower cases.
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