Whistleblower Law Checker

Deadlines to file with OSHA run from 30 to 180 calendar days, depending on the law. OSHA

Answer up to four questions to see which law likely applies, where the complaint goes and the deadline, with each rule it uses linked to OSHA, OSC, the U.S. Code or the award program it comes from.

How This Checker Decides

• OSHA enforces more than 20 whistleblower protection laws, and its summary chart says the summaries are not comprehensive but help identify which laws may apply. OSHA
• Deadlines to file with OSHA run from 30 to 180 calendar days, depending on the law. OSHA
• The deadline counts calendar days, starting the day after the retaliatory decision is both made and communicated to the employee. OSHA
• OSHA’s deadline can be extended only in limited circumstances. OSHA
• The Whistleblower Protection Act bars retaliation against federal employees, former employees and job applicants for protected disclosures, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigates and prosecutes these cases. OSC
• The Whistleblower Protection Act does not protect employees of the GAO, the Postal Service, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and certain other intelligence agencies. OSC

OSHA Filing Deadlines by Law

• OSHA’s investigations manual lists 30 days to file under Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). OSHA
• It lists 60 days under the International Safe Container Act (ISCA). OSHA
• It lists 90 days under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR21) and the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). OSHA
• It lists 180 days under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act (CAARA), the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), the Energy Reorganization Act (ERA), the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the National Transit Systems Security Act (NTSSA), the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the Seaman’s Protection Act (SPA), the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) and the Taxpayer First Act (TFA). OSHA
• In a state with an OSHA-approved State Plan, a Section 11(c) complaint should be filed with both the State Plan and federal OSHA; most State Plans require filing within 30 days. OSHA

When OSHA’s Clock Starts, and What Doesn’t Stop It

• The deadline counts calendar days, starting the day after the retaliatory decision is both made and communicated to the employee. OSHA
• If the last day falls on a weekend or federal holiday, or the OSHA office is closed, the deadline moves to the next business day. OSHA
• A complaint generally counts as filed on the date it is postmarked, faxed, emailed, submitted online or phoned in. OSHA
• OSHA’s deadline can be extended only in limited circumstances. OSHA
• Not knowing the deadline does not extend it, and neither does filing a grievance, arbitration, lawsuit, workers’ compensation claim or unemployment claim. OSHA
• A timely complaint filed by mistake with an agency that cannot give the employee personal relief, such as an AIR21 complaint filed with the FAA, may still be accepted as on time. OSHA
• Filing with a State Plan or another agency that can grant the relief requested does not extend OSHA’s deadline. OSHA

Federal Employees: OSC and the MSPB

• The Whistleblower Protection Act bars retaliation against federal employees, former employees and job applicants for protected disclosures, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigates and prosecutes these cases. OSC
• The Whistleblower Protection Act does not protect employees of the GAO, the Postal Service, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and certain other intelligence agencies. OSC
• Protected disclosures include information reasonably believed to show a violation of law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. OSC
• Unless the action can be appealed directly to the MSPB, a federal employee must go to OSC before the MSPB. U.S. Code
• Actions a federal employee can appeal directly to the MSPB include a removal after the probationary or other initial service period, a cut in grade or pay, a suspension of more than 14 days and a furlough of 30 days or less. 5 CFR 1201.3(a)(1)
• A direct MSPB appeal is due within 30 days after the action takes effect, or 30 days after the employee receives the agency’s decision, whichever is later. 5 CFR 1201.22(b)(1)
• The 30-day limit does not apply where another law sets a different one. 5 CFR 1201.22(b)(2)
• At the Department of Veterans Affairs, a removal, demotion or suspension of more than 14 days under 38 U.S.C. 714 can be appealed to the MSPB only within 10 business days. U.S. Code
• OSC can close a complaint without investigating if the employee knew or should have known of the prohibited personnel practice three years or more before OSC received it. U.S. Code
• An individual right of action (IRA) appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) requires filing with OSC first, and can follow once OSC closes the case or 120 days after filing with OSC. OSC
• After OSC ends its investigation, the MSPB appeal is due within 65 days after OSC issues its written notice, or within 60 days after the notice arrives if it arrived more than five days after it was issued. 5 CFR 1209.5(a)(1)
• An employee may choose only one route for a prohibited personnel practice complaint: OSC, an MSPB appeal (for an appealable action) or a union grievance, so filing one of the others first can leave OSC without jurisdiction. OSC
• Filing with OSC does not replace a discrimination complaint through the agency’s EEO office. OSC

Federal Contractors and Grant Recipients

• Federal law bars a federal contractor, subcontractor, grantee or subgrantee from firing, demoting or discriminating against an employee for disclosing what the employee reasonably believes is gross mismanagement, gross waste, abuse of authority or a law violation involving a federal contract or grant, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. U.S. Code
• The disclosure must go to a member of Congress, an inspector general, the GAO, a federal employee who oversees the contract or grant, the Justice Department or other law enforcement, a court or grand jury, or a manager responsible for addressing misconduct. U.S. Code
• The complaint goes to the inspector general of the agency involved and must be filed within three years after the retaliation. U.S. Code
• For Defense Department and NASA contracts and grants, a parallel law sends the complaint to the Defense Department or NASA inspector general, also within three years. U.S. Code
• These rights cannot be waived by any agreement, policy, form or condition of employment. U.S. Code
• If the agency denies relief or does not act within 210 days, the employee can sue the employer in federal court within two years after that. U.S. Code

Banks, Credit Unions and Fraud on the Government

• Section 33 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1831j) bars an insured depository institution, such as an insured bank, from retaliating against an employee who gives a federal banking agency or the attorney general information about a possible violation of law, gross mismanagement, waste, abuse of authority or a danger to public health or safety. U.S. Code
• The bank employee can sue in federal court within two years of the retaliation and must also send a copy of the complaint to the federal banking agency. U.S. Code
• Section 213 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1790b) bars an insured credit union from retaliating against an employee who gives the NCUA Board or the attorney general information about a possible violation of law, and the employee can sue in federal court within two years. U.S. Code
• The False Claims Act also protects any employee, contractor or agent punished for efforts to stop fraud against the government, and the retaliation suit must be filed in federal court within three years of the retaliation. U.S. Code
• Under the False Claims Act, a person can sue on the government’s behalf over fraud against the government (a qui tam suit), filed under seal. U.S. Code

Discrimination Complaints Go to the EEOC

• Federal equal employment opportunity laws, enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), bar punishing employees for complaining about job discrimination, including harassment. EEOC
• For employers other than the federal government, an EEOC charge generally must be filed within 180 calendar days, extended to 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a similar law. EEOC
• Federal employees and job applicants, including Postal Service workers, use the federal-sector EEO complaint process. § 1614.103(b)(3)
• In that process, the employee must contact an EEO counselor within 45 days of the discriminatory act, or of the effective date of a personnel action. § 1614.105(a)(1)

State and Local Government Workers

• Section 11(c) does not cover public-sector employees other than Postal Service workers, but other OSHA-enforced laws may protect federal, state or local government employees, depending on the circumstances. OSHA
• Section 11(c) complaints from state and local government employees go to the State Plan, if the state has one; laws such as NTSSA and AHERA cover some public-sector employees. OSHA

Award Programs Are a Separate Track

• The SEC must pay 10% to 30% of the sanctions collected to whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information that leads to a successful SEC action with sanctions over $1 million. U.S. Code
• The CFTC pays 10% to 30% of the sanctions collected to eligible whistleblowers whose original information about Commodity Exchange Act violations leads to an action with sanctions over $1 million. CFTC
• A tip alone does not earn a CFTC award: the whistleblower must also apply within 90 days after the CFTC posts a Notice of Covered Action. CFTC
• IRS whistleblower awards are generally 15% to 30% of the proceeds collected because of the whistleblower’s information. IRS
• Mandatory IRS awards require more than $2 million in dispute (and, for an individual taxpayer, gross income over $200,000 in at least one year involved); other claims can get a discretionary award. IRS
• The IRS notes that the Labor Department, not the IRS, protects whistleblowers from employer retaliation. IRS

Related GovFacts Articles

• Your Rights as a Whistleblower: A Guide to U.S. Protections
• How Whistleblower Protections Work
• Workplace Safety: Rights, Resources, and Protection