RESPONDING TO OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) WHISTLEBLOWER INVESTIGATIONS.

In fiscal year (FY) 2014, the United States (US) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) accepted 3,060 whistleblower cases for investigation. This marked the first time in its history that the agency had surpassed 3,000 cases (Maurer, 2015). The OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program enforces 22 federal statutes protecting employees that report violations of a wide variety of federal laws. From workplace safety to securities laws, the depth and breadth of the programs reach takes in a wide swath of the American economic landscape. The purpose of this paper is to briefly examine the reach of OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program, to examine where the agency's resources have been focused in recent years, and to identify policy and practice suggestions for employers to facilitate compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]