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Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

As Covid-19 continues to sweep across the United States, thousands of health and safety workers, as well as other essential personnel, have reported unsafe working conditions under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a law aimed at ensuring a safe work environment for all workers within the United States.

But this federal law is failing, and workers are being forced to choose between losing their job or becoming sick from Covid-19.

Currently, workers are unable to bring their cases to court and must report their claims to the Department of Labor within 30 days – putting the outcome of their case in the hands of unresponsive government officials and leaving employees unprotected from retaliation.

If Congress is serious about protecting workers and their rights, they need to amend this legislation to include the following:

(1) A private right of action for employees to pursue their claims if the Department of Labor declined to file a lawsuit in federal court on their behalf;
(2) Extending the statute of limitations from the current 30 days to 180 days;
(3) Modernizing the law to include the standard whistleblower protections that are now included in every whistleblower anti-retaliation law.

So, please, write to your representatives today. Demand Congress enact these urgently needed reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The time to ensure protection in the workplace is now.

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Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

If Congress is serious about protecting workers and their rights, they need to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act to allow workers to file their claims in court, extend the reporting deadline to 180 days, and include the standard whistleblower protections found in every other whistleblower anti-retaliation law.

Demand Congress enact these urgently needed reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The time to ensure protection in the workplace is now.

Write to your representative today

Subject: Protect front line workers, reform the Occupational Safety and Health Act

Message:

Dear Representative, I am writing to urge you to enact necessary reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act in order to keep Americans safe in the face of Covid-19. Fifty years ago, Congress passed this federal law to ensure a safe working environment for all workers within the United States. Congress recognized the need for protecting whistleblowers, but over time these protections have proven to be inadequate. Today, workers who report working conditions that are unsafe due to the coronavirus have just one reporting channel, one that fails to ensure that complaints are heard and that retaliation is prevented. Unlike in other modern whistleblower laws, workers who report hazardous work environments are unable to file their own lawsuits. Potential whistleblowers must report their claim to the Department of Labor (DOL), which then decides whether to bring about any action. If the DOL decides the case lacks merit, workers are left without any other course of action, forcing some to remain in life-threatening work environments. Workers are further restricted under the Act due to the mandatory 30 day reporting requirement. Should the whistleblower fail to file their claim within this time period, they automatically lose their case. This reporting requirement is among the shortest filing deadlines under any federal employment discrimination law. Even claims that survive this hurdle are often given short shrift. In FY 2019, the DOL deemed only 14 out of 2,000 whistleblower claims as having merit. Health and safety workers are risking their lives on the front line to treat coronavirus patients, but the law designed to protect them is not working. No worker should ever choose between losing their job or becoming sick from Covid-19. Congress needs to fix this broken system and implement the recommended legislative reforms laid out in the National Whistleblower Center’s letter sent to Congress on April 21, 2020. These reforms must include: 1. A private right of action for employees to pursue their claims if the Department of Labor declined to file a lawsuit in federal court on their behalf; 2. Extending the statute of limitations from the current 30 days to 180 days; 3. Modernizing the law to include the standard whistleblower protections that are now included in every whistleblower anti-retaliation law, including Auto Safety, Airline Safety, Transportation Safety, Mine Health and Safety, Food Safety, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Railroad Safety, Public Transportation Safety, Consumer Product Safety, Consumer Financial Protection, and most recently (2019) incorporated into the IRS whistleblower law. I urge you to enact these reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. They have never been more necessary. If you or your staff have any questions about these suggested reforms, please contact the National Whistleblower Center at info@whistleblowers.org.

Remaining:

Write to your senators today

Subject: Protect front line workers, reform the Occupational Safety and Health Act

Message:

Dear Senator, I am writing to urge you to enact necessary reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act in order to keep Americans safe in the face of Covid-19. Fifty years ago, Congress passed this federal law to ensure a safe working environment for all workers within the United States. Congress recognized the need for protecting whistleblowers, but over time these protections have proven to be inadequate. Today, workers who report working conditions that are unsafe due to the coronavirus have just one reporting channel, one that fails to ensure that complaints are heard and that retaliation is prevented. Unlike in other modern whistleblower laws, workers who report hazardous work environments are unable to file their own lawsuits. Potential whistleblowers must report their claim to the Department of Labor (DOL), which then decides whether to bring about any action. If the DOL decides the case lacks merit, workers are left without any other course of action, forcing some to remain in life-threatening work environments. Workers are further restricted under the Act due to the mandatory 30 day reporting requirement. Should the whistleblower fail to file their claim within this time period, they automatically lose their case. This reporting requirement is among the shortest filing deadlines under any federal employment discrimination law. Even claims that survive this hurdle are often given short shrift. In FY 2019, the DOL deemed only 14 out of 2,000 whistleblower claims as having merit. Health and safety workers are risking their lives on the front line to treat coronavirus patients, but the law designed to protect them is not working. No worker should ever choose between losing their job or becoming sick from Covid-19. Congress needs to fix this broken system and implement the recommended legislative reforms laid out in the National Whistleblower Center’s letter sent to Congress on April 21, 2020. These reforms must include: 1. A private right of action for employees to pursue their claims if the Department of Labor declined to file a lawsuit in federal court on their behalf; 2. Extending the statute of limitations from the current 30 days to 180 days; 3. Modernizing the law to include the standard whistleblower protections that are now included in every whistleblower anti-retaliation law, including Auto Safety, Airline Safety, Transportation Safety, Mine Health and Safety, Food Safety, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Railroad Safety, Public Transportation Safety, Consumer Product Safety, Consumer Financial Protection, and most recently (2019) incorporated into the IRS whistleblower law. I urge you to enact these reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. They have never been more necessary. If you or your staff have any questions about these suggested reforms, please contact the National Whistleblower Center at info@whistleblowers.org.

Remaining:

Organization Name
ORG ADDRESS LINE 1 ORG ADDRESS LINE 2 | Org City, Org State Org Zip
Org Email

Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

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Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

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Urge Congress to protect front line workers who blow the whistle

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