New guidelines for whistleblower settlements prevent employers from silencing workers!

OSHA has published new guidelines for approving settlements between employers and employees in whistleblower cases to ensure that they do not contain terms that could be interpreted to restrict future whistle-blowing. The new guidelines respond to a March 2015 petition for rulemaking from the Government Accountability Project, which asked OSHA to clarify that it will not approve settlements that discourage whistle-blowing. In particular, the updated guidelines make clear that OSHA will not approve a settlement that contains a provision that restricts the employee’s right to provide information to the government or requires the employee to notify the employer before or after communicating with the government. OSHA also will not approve an agreement that requires a whistle-blower to waive his or her right to receive a monetary award from a government-administered whistle-blower program or to pay the employer a portion of such an award. For more information, see the news release.