Would-be whistleblowers may find it easier to get OSHA probe

Employees who want to pursue whistleblower-retaliation claims against employers may find it easier to do so under a new policy directive issued by OSHA.

The directive, reported by the news site iwpnews.com, lowers the legal bar for OSHA to initiate an investigation of a complaint. Employees now need only show that there is a “reasonable cause” to start a probe, as opposed to the previous standard of a “preponderance of evidence.”

OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program aims to protect employees from retaliation for raising concerns about safety in the workplace.

According to iwpnews.com, the directive, dated April 20, “makes clear that OSHA has a greater responsibility in determining reasonable cause than a complainant’s prima facie or ‘on its face’ showing of possible retaliation by an employer.

The news site goes on to quote the directive as saying:

“However, a reasonable cause finding does not necessarily require as much evidence as would be required at trial to establish unlawful retaliation by a preponderance of the evidence.

“Although OSHA will need to make some credibility determinations to evaluate whether a reasonable judge could find in the complainant’s favor, OSHA does not necessarily need to resolve all possible conflicts in the evidence or make conclusive credibility determinations to find reasonable cause to believe that a violation occurred.”