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Step 1
Contact a local or regional office of OSHA, and register your complaint with a representative in person, by phone or by fax. Prepare to give the OSHA representative pertinent information, such as the nature of the safety concern, how long it has existed and whether or not a member of management has tried to address the issue already. In addition, you should inform the OSHA representative whether there has been any threat by your employer to continue working despite the safety issue.
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Step 2
File an official complaint with OSHA, which should be completed in person at a local OSHA office. This 2-page form is easy to fill out and comes complete with instructions. In addition, the form gives you the option of remaining anonymous to your employer.
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Step 3
Download the complaint form directly from the OSHA website (see Resources below). Once you have downloaded and printed the official complaint form, you can fill it out and either fax it or mail it to the closest OSHA field office. Upon review, an OSHA inspection will be scheduled.
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Step 4
Expect OSHA to make an informal safety inspection based upon your complaint by merely making a phone call to the management or ownership of your company. While this should not reflect the seriousness of your complaint, it should give the business owner a chance to correct the situation before receiving large and financially crippling fines.
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Step 5
Request a copy of the employer's response to the complaint, which is required after an informal inspection. This form will be available to the individual who originally filed the complaint once it is received by OSHA.
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Step 6
Ask about the OSHA Whistleblower Protection program, which can help you protect your job if you feel you may be terminated after you file a complaint. The program is designed to offer legal assistance to employees who have, after filing an OSHA complaint, had benefits discontinued or reduced, been demoted or disciplined, received an unexplained pay cut or been laid off.
