Thu, 11/12/2020
COVID-19 has brought unprecedented uncertainty into the workplace, as employees across the country fight to enhance safety policies and protections, highlighting the importance of legal protections for workers who report unsafe conditions due to COVID-19 and problems in asserting special sick leave protections, and preventing employers from retaliating against workers in exercising their legal rights.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) both authorizes workers to raise safety concerns and enforces federal safety standards, including protecting workers who raise safety and health concerns from retaliation. These anti-retaliation protections extend to COVID-19-related concerns, and OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program has all but promised that it will protect workers from retaliation during the pandemic.
However, an analysis of OSHA’s public data by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) found that workers filed 1,744 COVID-19-related retaliation complaints from the start of the pandemic through August 9. OSHA investigated and resolved just 2 percent of those allegations. Instead, more than half were dismissed without investigation, and the rest were delegated to state or other agencies. NELP’s report is available online.
NELP has advocated for several routes to correct OSHA’s failure to protect workers, but workers may find it most practical to turn to their state and local governments. Fourteen states and various municipalities have adopted comprehensive protections providing robust whistleblower protections for employees who report COVID-19 related violations, from filing formal health and safety complaints to alerting other workers or the public about workplace risks.
For example, Virginia was the first state to pass an Emergency Temporary Standard, mandating workplace protections like ensuring 6-foot physical distancing between employees, coworkers, and customers; providing employees with personal protective equipment, including more than masks in some situations; and mandating deep cleaning and employee notification when there have been COVID-19 cases in the workplace.
Other states and local governments have adopted the same or similar requirements, including Pennsylvania. In the City of Philadelphia, for example, a citywide ordinance protects workers from retaliation for raising COVID-19 concerns, including refusing work if COVID-19 cases are found in the workplace. Even states that have not adopted these protection wholesale will address concerns with employees fearful of entering the workplace after COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed. Workers should check their state and local policies to determine which protections apply to them.
If you believe you have been retaliated against for complaining about unsafe conditions in your workplace, contact MSE at info@mselaborlaw.com.
