Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has scheduled a meeting on June 12, 2018, in Washington, D.C., to solicit comments and suggestions from stakeholders in the trucking and railroad industries, on whistleblower issues within OSHA's purview. 83 Fed. Reg. 19838 (May 4, 2018).
Through its whistleblower division, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces the whistleblower provisions of 22 separate statutes, including:
- The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA), which applies to trucking and transportation regulations;
- The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which applies to motor vehicle safety information; and
- The Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), which applies to railroad safety.
OSHA has scheduled the June 12, 2018 meeting to obtaining information from employers and other interest groups on key issues facing the Agency's Whistleblower program in the trucking and railroad industries. OSHA indicates that this meeting will be the "first in a series of meetings requesting public input on this program." For this first meeting, OSHA is inviting comments on the following very basic questions:
- How can OSHA deliver better whistleblower customer service?
- What kind of assistance can OSHA provide to help explain the whistleblower laws it enforces?
The meeting is open to the public, and will be held from 1:00-3:00 p.m., in Washington, DC.
Note that individuals interested in participating or attending the meeting, either in-person or by telephone, must register by May 29, 2018, at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/occupational-safety-and-health-administration-stakeholder-meeting-registration-45311347460.
In addition, written comments or other materials should be submitted electronically, directly to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, using OSHA Docket No. OSHA-2018-0005.
For more information on this or any related topic please contact the authors, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Whistleblower or Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Teams.
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