The National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration are teaming up to further protect whistleblowers.
The agencies signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday that outlines procedures for information-sharing, referrals, and training and outreach that explain federal anti-retaliation protections.
“Everyone should be able to exercise their legal rights in the workplace without fear of losing their job or other forms of punishment,” Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker said in a statement. “Our partnership with the National Labor Relations Board will expand both of our agencies’ impact and effectiveness in protecting workers who raise concerns about workplace violations or retaliation.”
The agreement is meant to increase overall awareness of the rights and remedies available to workers under federal anti-retaliation and whistleblower protection laws, as well as to bolster protections for employees who wish to speak out about unsafe working conditions.
“Workplace safety can be a matter of life and death for workers, and so the ability to report workplace hazards without fear of retaliation is critically important,” NLRB General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo said.
Federal interagency agreements that support information-sharing, training and outreach are gaining speed.
Tuesday’s announcement follows a similar agreement between the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, announced in September, to “further effective outreach and enforcement with respect to the federal laws that advance equal employment opportunity and fair pay.”
Also in September, the Federal Trade Commission and the DOL signed an agreement to target anticompetitive, unfair and deceptive practices in workplaces. The memorandum of understanding aims to crack down on issues such as labor market concentration, one-sided contract terms and labor developments in the “gig economy.”
