Interlocutory review procedures

The Commission may grant interlocutory review only if the petition shows either an important legal or policy question that controls the case and immediate review will materially speed final resolution (or later review would be an inadequate remedy), or the ruling will disclose allegedly privileged information before the Commission can review the Judge's report. See the two-pronged test in 2200.73(a)(1) and 2200.73(a)(2).

You must file a petition for interlocutory review within 7 days after service of the Judge’s ruling, and any responses must be filed within 7 days after service of the petition. See 2200.73(b). Also, the petition and any response must be served on other parties and intervenors in the manner prescribed in 2200.7(c).

A petition for interlocutory review is deemed filed only when it is received by the Commission in the manner specified by the Commission rules. In particular, filing is effective only when received by the Commission as specified in 2200.8(d)(3)(ii). See 2200.73(g) for the rule on when filing is effective.

No—except for alleged trade secret matters, filing a petition does not automatically stay the Judge’s ruling. Filing a petition about an alleged trade secret does stay the effect of that ruling until the petition is deemed denied or decided. For all other cases, the filing or granting of a petition does not stay a proceeding or the effect of a ruling unless the Commission orders a stay. See 2200.73(d)(1) and 2200.73(d)(2).

A corporate party must file with the Commission a copy of the declaration of corporate parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates that it previously filed with the Judge under 2200.35 or 2200.37(d)(4). The Commission may refuse to accept a petition or response that fails to comply with this disclosure requirement. See the corporate filing requirement in the 2200.73 paragraph addressing corporate parties.

Yes. The Commission’s decision not to grant interlocutory review is without prejudice and does not prevent you from raising the objection to the Judge’s interlocutory ruling later in a petition for discretionary review. See 2200.73(c).

A petition for interlocutory review is denied unless it is granted within 30 days of the date the Commission’s Executive Secretary receives it. See the 30‑day grant window described in the 2200.73 provision that explains filing and the denial rule.

You must file a copy of the petition and any responses with the Judge, and you must serve the filed petition on the other parties and any intervenors in the manner prescribed in 2200.7(c). See 2200.73(b).

Yes. You may request that the Judge provide written views on the petition’s merits, and if the Judge files such written comments with the Commission, the Judge must serve those comments on all parties in the manner prescribed in [2200.7(c)]. See 2200.73(e).

Yes, the Commission may request briefs on the issues raised by an interlocutory petition and will notify the parties if it decides to do so; the briefs process is described in 2200.93. See 2200.73(f) for the Commission’s authority to request briefs.

Filing a petition for interlocutory review of a Judge’s ruling about an alleged trade secret automatically stays the effect of that ruling until the petition is either deemed denied or is ruled upon by the Commission. See the automatic trade-secret stay in 2200.73(d)(1).

Yes. A corporate party that files the declaration required by 2200.73 has a continuing duty to advise the Executive Secretary of any changes to its declaration until the petition is deemed denied or a decision on the petition is issued. See the continuing-duty language in the corporate disclosure paragraph of 2200.73.

The Commission may refuse, in its discretion, to accept for filing a petition or response that fails to comply with the corporate disclosure requirement (a copy of the corporate declaration filed with the Judge under 2200.35 or 2200.37(d)(4)). See the filing-refusal language in 2200.73.

Yes. A copy of the petition and any responses must be filed with the Judge as part of the interlocutory-review filing process. See that requirement in 2200.73(b).

Interlocutory review is discretionary with the Commission; the Commission decides whether to grant review based on the standards in 2200.73(a). See the general rule in 2200.73(a).

It means the petitioner must show that the legal or policy question raised controls the outcome of the case and that having the Commission decide the issue now will significantly speed up the case’s final resolution or avoid an inadequate later remedy. See the requirement in 2200.73(a)(1).

The effective filing time of the petition is controlled by the Commission receipt rules in [2200.8(d)(3)(ii)], so a petition is deemed filed only when it is received by the Commission according to that specific receipt rule. See 2200.73(g) and 2200.8(d)(3)(ii).

Most settlement agreements are not posted on OSHA’s website, but they remain public information subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); major agreements are posted. An employer cannot expect all settlement agreements to be kept confidential from FOIA requests. See OSHA’s explanation about web posting and FOIA in the letter of interpretation at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2004-09-27-0 and note that Commission rules address posting of settlement agreements at 2200.

If a corporate party cannot produce a previously filed declaration required by 2200.35 or 2200.37(d)(4), the Commission may, in its discretion, refuse to accept the petition or response for filing under the 2200.73 disclosure requirement.