The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently published an interim final rule establishing procedures and time frames for handling employee retaliation complaints under the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, which was enacted Dec. 23, 2020, according to www.osha.gov. The interim final rule took effect Feb. 10.
The departments of Labor and Justice will collaborate to enforce the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act to ensure protection of whistleblowers from retaliation for reporting potential criminal antitrust violations or engaging in other protected activities, such as testifying for, participating in or assisting with certain federal government investigations or proceedings. Protected reports include providing information to an employer or the federal government related to price fixing, bid rigging or market allocation schemes between competitors, or information relating to violations of other criminal laws committed in conjunction with potential violations of the criminal antitrust laws or in conjunction with a Justice Department investigation of potential violations of those laws.
OSHA is accepting comments from the public; submit comments online, identified by Docket Number OSHA-2021-0011, at the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The deadline for submitting comments is April 23.
For more information about the statute and instructions regarding how to file a complaint with OSHA under the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act, view the fact sheet about Whistleblower Protection for Reporting Criminal Antitrust Violations.
