In truth, that's the way it is already. It's not just the OSHA inspectors that can identify safety infractions. In many locales, the public is encouraged to anonymously call-in if they observe safety violations. And in theory employees can also out a company for ignoring the rules. While it's questionable how many employees would jeopardize the stability of the company they work for, it's certainly conceivable that some employers so flagrantly defy safety rules and do not supply workers with necessary protective equipment that a worker's prospects of losing a job are better than continuing to work under unsafe conditions.
The Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, recently testified before the Senate Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employee and Workplace Safety to seek a number of changes to the agency's the whistleblower protection provisions. "We know that some employers are only impacted by fear of inspections. There are lots of other employers who want to do the right thing, and we have to help them . . . " Read more.
