09.16.10
The Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Protection Program, administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is responsible for investigating whistleblower complaints under 19 different statutes, including occupational safety and health, civilian and defense nuclear facilities, trucking, pipelines, railroads, consumer product safety, securities, health care and six environmental protection laws.
The GAO found that for the last two decades, the Labor Department has not provided adequate management attention to the whistleblower program. The independent watchdog agency said the program’s training for investigators and their supervisors is inconsistent from region to region, that internal controls are lacking to monitor compliance with policies and procedures, and that few of the GAO’s previous recommendations from 2009 have been implemented.
The GAO also noted that despite an increased workload over the years, the number of inspectors has remained relatively flat, and urged the program establish a separate budget for the whistleblower program. In fiscal year 2009 more than 2,100 whistleblower complaints were filed with OSHA. Congress provided the Labor Department with funds for 25 additional whistleblower investigators in fiscal year 2010 to deal with a growing caseload.
In hearings in both the House and Senate on a number of recent workplace tragedies – such as the Upper Big Branch mine, the Tesoro refinery explosion and the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion – Congress heard how workers’ voices were routinely silenced from speaking up on significant problems for fear of job loss. Witnesses said that increased whistleblower protections might have prevented some or all of these tragedies.
“As we have seen all too often, workers pay the tragic price when companies retaliate against workers who raise legitimate safety concerns. Strong and effective whistleblower protections are essential to ensuring a safe workplace since safety regulators can’t be on every jobsite,” said Rep. Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “At the same time, I will continue to work with my colleagues and the Secretary of Labor to modernize anti-retaliation protections as part of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act.”
“Workers are the first line of defense against dangerous working conditions,” said Sen. Harkin, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “We have an obligation to protect those who courageously risk their careers to protect the safety of others. In light of the GAO’s findings, OSHA should take swift action to remedy the problems in this important program. Even with these steps, however, many whistleblower laws remain inadequate. I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strengthen them so all of America’s workers are fully protected.”
“No worker should ever be discouraged from reporting a potentially dangerous situation in the workplace to an employer or an oversight agency for fear of retaliation,” said Sen. Murray, chair of the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. “We are working closely with our Republican colleagues to bring about some critically needed improvements to worker protection laws, including the need to update the OSHAct’s whistleblower programs. And it is our goal to work together on a bi-partisan bill to protect all of America’s workers.”
“We look forward to working with the Department of Labor to address the shortcomings in the Whistleblower Protection Program outlined in this report,” said Rep. Woolsey, chair of the House’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee. “We will, however, continue to exercise rigorous oversight and will act if the department fails to do so.”
Both the House and Senate are currently working on legislation to ensure that workers have a voice on the job by strengthening out-of-date whistleblower laws. Among other provisions, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act would modernize 40-year-old anti-retaliation provisions in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, which is the oldest and least protective out of the 19-whistleblower laws administered by the Department of Labor.
More information on the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act
GAO: Improved Investigator Training and More Effective Management Needed for Federal Whistleblower Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Improved training and oversight is needed for the federal program designed to protect Americans who ‘blow the whistle’ on unsafe working conditions or other illegal activities, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported to members of Congress today. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), and Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), requested the report as part of an effort to ensure that workers have the both the right to raise safety concerns and an effective remedy, which are essential parts of the nation’s workplace safety and health protection system.The Department of Labor’s Whistleblower Protection Program, administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is responsible for investigating whistleblower complaints under 19 different statutes, including occupational safety and health, civilian and defense nuclear facilities, trucking, pipelines, railroads, consumer product safety, securities, health care and six environmental protection laws.
The GAO found that for the last two decades, the Labor Department has not provided adequate management attention to the whistleblower program. The independent watchdog agency said the program’s training for investigators and their supervisors is inconsistent from region to region, that internal controls are lacking to monitor compliance with policies and procedures, and that few of the GAO’s previous recommendations from 2009 have been implemented.
The GAO also noted that despite an increased workload over the years, the number of inspectors has remained relatively flat, and urged the program establish a separate budget for the whistleblower program. In fiscal year 2009 more than 2,100 whistleblower complaints were filed with OSHA. Congress provided the Labor Department with funds for 25 additional whistleblower investigators in fiscal year 2010 to deal with a growing caseload.
In hearings in both the House and Senate on a number of recent workplace tragedies – such as the Upper Big Branch mine, the Tesoro refinery explosion and the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion – Congress heard how workers’ voices were routinely silenced from speaking up on significant problems for fear of job loss. Witnesses said that increased whistleblower protections might have prevented some or all of these tragedies.
“As we have seen all too often, workers pay the tragic price when companies retaliate against workers who raise legitimate safety concerns. Strong and effective whistleblower protections are essential to ensuring a safe workplace since safety regulators can’t be on every jobsite,” said Rep. Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “At the same time, I will continue to work with my colleagues and the Secretary of Labor to modernize anti-retaliation protections as part of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act.”
“Workers are the first line of defense against dangerous working conditions,” said Sen. Harkin, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “We have an obligation to protect those who courageously risk their careers to protect the safety of others. In light of the GAO’s findings, OSHA should take swift action to remedy the problems in this important program. Even with these steps, however, many whistleblower laws remain inadequate. I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strengthen them so all of America’s workers are fully protected.”
“No worker should ever be discouraged from reporting a potentially dangerous situation in the workplace to an employer or an oversight agency for fear of retaliation,” said Sen. Murray, chair of the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety. “We are working closely with our Republican colleagues to bring about some critically needed improvements to worker protection laws, including the need to update the OSHAct’s whistleblower programs. And it is our goal to work together on a bi-partisan bill to protect all of America’s workers.”
“We look forward to working with the Department of Labor to address the shortcomings in the Whistleblower Protection Program outlined in this report,” said Rep. Woolsey, chair of the House’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee. “We will, however, continue to exercise rigorous oversight and will act if the department fails to do so.”
Both the House and Senate are currently working on legislation to ensure that workers have a voice on the job by strengthening out-of-date whistleblower laws. Among other provisions, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act would modernize 40-year-old anti-retaliation provisions in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, which is the oldest and least protective out of the 19-whistleblower laws administered by the Department of Labor.
More information on the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act
Next Article