Developments in the Retaliation and Whistleblower Landscape (OSHA / L&E Crossover)

Presented by Kara Maciel, Lindsay DiSalvo, and Mark Ishu

The landscape for whistleblower and retaliation claims has changed in varying ways over the last several years. Employers have seen a significant uptick in retaliation claims filed by employees and investigated by federal agencies. For example, in FY 2013, only approximately 41% of all charges filed with the EEOC included a retaliation claim, but that number shot up to about 57% in FY 2023. Similarly, the number of total whistleblower complaints filed with OSHA increased significantly in FY 2023, with the vast majority of those complaints – about 71% – filed under Sec. 11(c) of the OSH Act (retaliation based on protected safety acts).

Not only has the number of complaints filed significantly increased, but retaliation has also become a bigger focus of federal agencies charged with enforcing these types of claims, including OSHA and the EEOC. This has resulted in greater resources being directed to investigation of these claims, as well as increased cooperation between agencies through memorandums of understanding (MOUs). And, although the general legal standards for review of retaliation and whistleblower claims have remained consistent, application of those standards and the judicial body that applies them may shift based on recent decisions impacting both.

Participants in this webinar will learn:

• Prevalence and impact of retaliation and whistleblower charges
• Applicable federal whistleblower and anti-retaliation laws
• Agency efforts to enforce anti-retaliation and whistleblower protections
• Legal Standards for evaluating allegations of retaliation

This program has been approved by SHRM for 1 hour of HR professional development credit.

This program has been approved for 1 (General)) recertification credit hour toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through the HR Certification Institute.