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By
Scott S. Shepardson
Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP
The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun
allowing employees to file complaints regarding workplace
safety concerns online. Employees now may complete and file
a complaint online at OSHA's web site, www.osha.gov. The
online form takes about 10 minutes to complete. It requests
information such as the complainant's name and telephone
number, the employer's name, and a description and location
of the safety hazard. The complainant can request that his
or her name not be released.
According
to the OSHA Web site, complaints filed online generally
will be resolved informally by phone with the employer.
Complaints from workers in states with OSHA-approved state
plans will be forwarded to the appropriate state plan for
response. (Twenty-three states have such plans.) Employees
also may download the form, available in PDF format, complete
it and send it by fax or mail to an OSHA regional office.
Written, signed complaints submitted to OSHA or state plan
offices are more likely to result in onsite OSHA inspections.
Cal-OSHA,
California's OSHA approved state plan, has no such on-line
reporting system although complaints to the OSHA Web site
presumably would be forwarded to Cal-OSHA, as described
above. Complaints to Cal-OSHA are handled pursuant to procedures
set forth on its web site, www.dir.ca.gov/occupational_safety.html.
The process begins with an assessment of the validity and
nature of the complaint. Follow-up may include on-site inspections
or, where appropriate, telephone contact with the employer
followed by facsimile or e-mail notification of the nature
of the complaint. The employer must provide a satisfactory
response to the notification regarding remedial or protective
measures taken in order to avoid on-site inspection by Cal-OSHA
representatives. However, one of every five employers that
provide satisfactory responses nevertheless is visited by
Cal-OSHA inspectors as a form of auditing.
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For more information about the issues covered in this report, please contact Scott S. Shepardson in our San Francisco office at 415-369-7184 or at sshepardson@thelen.com or contact your Thelen attorney. For more information about Thelen's Construction and Government Contracts Department, click here.
©2000
Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP
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