On February 17, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Directorate of Whistleblower Protection Programs’ new whistleblower complaint intake pilot program (Directive 23-01 (CPL 02)) went into effect, governing complaints covered by OSHA-administered whistleblower statutes. The directive creates a national pilot program changing OSHA’s intake process for whistleblower complaints. OSHA tested this program in Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) in 2020 and has now implemented the program nationwide. The goal is to more efficiently process whistleblower complaints and also alleviate potential backlogs to give investigators greater resources to conduct investigations when necessary.
What does this mean for employers? In theory, it would mean employers would see fewer complaints, as the initial intake would screen for and administratively close facially flawed or defunct allegations. It may also mean that whistleblower complaints that are investigated face a shorter timetable to completion. In the past twenty-four months, backlogs of whistleblower complaints (such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act 11(c) complaints) have sometimes taken from fifteen to eighteen months for the investigator to issue his or her findings and/or dismissal. This new intake program targets that issue.
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