Introduction & Instructions

OSHA administers more than twenty whistleblower protection laws, including Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, which prohibits retaliation against employees who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions or exercise other rights under the Act. Each law has a filing deadline, varying from 30 days to 180 days, which starts when the retaliatory action occurs.

A whistleblower complaint must allege four key elements:

The employee engaged in activity protected by the whistleblower protection law(s) (such as reporting a violation of law);

The employer knew about, or suspected, that the employee engaged in the protected activity;

The employer took an adverse action against the employee;

The employee's protected activity motivated or contributed to the adverse action.

Filing with this form is not required, as OSHA accepts whistleblower complaints made orally (telephone or walk-in at any OSHA office) or in writing, and in any language. If you choose to use this form, you must complete the screens and fields that are marked as "required"; all other screens and fields are optional.

If you file a complaint, OSHA will contact you to determine whether to conduct an investigation. You must respond to OSHA's follow-up contact or your complaint will be dismissed.

A whistleblower complaint filed with OSHA cannot be filed anonymously. If OSHA proceeds with an investigation, OSHA will notify your employer of your complaint and provide the employer with an opportunity to respond. Because your complaint may be shared with the employer, do not include witness names or their contact information on this form; you will have the opportunity to offer evidence in support of your complaint during the investigation.

If you have any questions about the complaint filing or investigative processes, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

If you think your job is unsafe and you want to ask for an inspection, you can call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or file a "Notice of Alleged Safety or Health Hazards" by clicking here.