Washington, DC—Brand-new analysis by Deborah Berkowitz and Shayla Thompson of the National Employment Law Project (NELP) shows that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has failed to protect COVID safety whistleblowers who filed retaliation complaints.

NELP analyzed OSHA’s public data showing 1,744 COVID-19-related retaliation complaints filed by workers from April through August 9, and found:

• One in five complaints (348) were docketed for investigation.
• Only 2% of complaints (35) were resolved during that period.
• Most complaints, 54%, were dismissed or closed without investigation.

“Resolving a mere two percent of OSHA retaliation complaints in six months is a dismal record under any circumstances. It undermines workers’ confidence that they’ll be protected when reporting unsafe working conditions. But it is especially egregious during a pandemic that, to date, has resulted in more than 210,000 COVID-related deaths and over 7.4 million cases in the United States—many likely due to workplace-related coronavirus transmissions—the most of any country in the world,” according to the study.

Reporting on the new NELP analysis, The Washington Post’s Eli Rosenberg writes, “Advocates and former OSHA officials say OSHA’s lack of response to retaliation complaints is just the latest example of OSHA favoring companies over workers the agency is tasked to safeguard. Plus, the stakes are much higher in the middle a pandemic that has made so many workplaces more dangerous.”

To speak with the authors of the NELP analysis, please reach out to amy.lebowitz@berlinrosen.com.

This blog originally appeared at the National Employment Law Project on October 8, 2020. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author:  Deborah Berkowitz, NELP’s Worker Safety and Health program director, joined NELP in 2015, following six years serving as chief of staff and then a senior policy adviser for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (2009-2015).