Protected employee complaints

Yes — employees are protected from discharge or discrimination for filing complaints made under or related to the OSH Act. The rule explains that a complaint made “under” the Act (for example, a request for inspection) or a complaint “related to” the Act is covered by Section 11(c), so an employer may not retaliate against an employee for such complaints. See the protections described in 1977.9(a) and the general [1977] (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1977).

Yes — a request for an OSHA inspection is an example of a complaint made “under” the Act and is protected. The rule explicitly lists a request for inspection as an example of activity covered by Section 11(c). See 1977.9(a).

Yes — complaints to other federal agencies that have authority to regulate or investigate occupational safety and health are treated as complaints “related to” the OSH Act and are protected from retaliation. The regulation makes this point directly. See 1977.9(b).

Yes — complaints made to State or local agencies about occupational safety and health conditions are considered related to the Act and are protected, provided they concern workplace conditions rather than only public health issues. See 1977.9(b).

No — complaints must relate to conditions at the workplace to be protected; complaints that only concern general public health or safety (and not workplace conditions) are not covered. See 1977.9(b).

Yes — complaints to an employer about occupational safety and health matters are protected from discharge or discrimination if made in good faith. The rule emphasizes that discouraging employees from raising workplace safety concerns to their employer would undermine the Act’s purposes, so such good-faith complaints are covered. See 1977.9(c).

The phrase “related to” is interpreted broadly to match the Act’s wide remedial goals and broad scope across commerce; complaints need not be limited to a narrow set of topics so long as they concern occupational safety and health matters. The regulation explains that the range of complaints “related to” the Act is commensurate with the Act’s remedial purposes. See 1977.9(a).

No — Section 11(c) protection covers complaints to agencies that have authority to regulate or investigate occupational safety and health; complaints to agencies without such authority would not be covered under that provision. See 1977.9(b).

Yes — disciplining an employee because they made a good-faith complaint to the employer about workplace safety or health would be discriminatory and contrary to the protections described in the regulation. The rule says employees who lodge good-faith complaints with their employer are related to the Act and are protected. See 1977.9(c).

No — leaving the workplace and being absent for the remainder of a shift to file a complaint removes the employee from the realm of protected activity. The regulation protects complaints made under or related to the Act, but the 1983 Letter of Interpretation explains that walking off the job to file a complaint with OSHA is not protected under the OSH Act. See 1977.9(c) and the guidance in the Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1983-07-11-1.

No — a work refusal is protected only in very narrow circumstances; normally a refusal to work is not protected unless the specific conditions in the refusal-to-work provisions are met. The 1983 Letter of Interpretation explains that refusal-to-work protections apply only when all conditions in the relevant refusal-to-work rules are present, and that those protections do not justify leaving the workplace to file a complaint. See 1977.9(a) and the 1983 Letter of Interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1983-07-11-1.

No — a complaint to the employer does not have to be formal or written to be protected; the regulation protects complaints made to the employer in good faith, which can include verbal reports of hazards. The key is that the complaint concerns workplace safety or health and is made in good faith. See 1977.9(c).

No — reporting a community or public environmental issue that does not concern workplace conditions is not protected under Section 11(c); the rule requires the complaint to relate to conditions at the workplace. See 1977.9(b).

No — even complaints to an agency with occupational safety authority must relate to workplace conditions to be protected; a complaint about a non-workplace site would not meet that requirement. See 1977.9(b).

A complaint "made in good faith" means the employee genuinely believes there is a workplace safety or health concern and is not making a false or malicious allegation for improper purposes. The regulation protects good-faith complaints to employers so long as they relate to occupational safety and health. See 1977.9(c).

No — the protections bar discharge or discrimination because an employee filed complaints under or related to the Act; an employer may not use a stated business reason to mask retaliation for protected complaints. The regulation makes clear that discharge or discrimination for filing such complaints is prohibited. See 1977.9(a).

It depends — complaints to State or local agencies are protected only if the agency has authority to regulate or investigate occupational safety and health or the complaint itself concerns workplace conditions; reporting to a local office with no safety oversight may not qualify. The regulation distinguishes complaints to agencies that can address occupational safety and health from general public complaints. See 1977.9(b).