OSHA Investigates State Order Complaints At Work

Breken Terry pressed the feds for answers about OSHA complaints filed due to coronavirus concerns.

As they announce it.

With most of you back at work, the waay 31 i-team wanted to know - what type of protection are workers guaranteed - to stay safe.

In alabama, it's the federal government's job to oversee safety in the work place.

The i-team learned 56 companies are accused of not doing enough.

Waay 31's breken terry is live after pressing the feds for answers, breken?

Here are the complaints against those businesses.

Nine of them are from north alabama.

The companies range from a chicken plant to a restaurant a credit union, and even a post office.

And for all of these complaints, plus others regularly filed, there are only 21 officers throughout the entire state to investigate..

I obtained these complaints from the occupation safety and help administration... more commonly known as osha.

There's a long list of complaints including a lack of protective gear, sanitizing, social distancing and employees testing positive for coronavirus with nothing being done by the employer.

I spent the past week asking osha if it's actively investigating any of these complaints.

No one would provide an answer... and the department's website doesn't include the information.

Here is what we do know, according to osha's coronavirus guidelines formal complaints are taken more seriously if they come directly from multiple employees.

The guidelines also state complaints at places like hospitals or meat packing facilities are considered high risk and go to the top of the pile.

But that doesn't mean it's sending investigators osha is directing it's officers to, " "maximize the use of electronic means of communication"... so onsite visits to expose dangers to employees likely won't happen.

This sample letter that's supposed to go to businesses with complaints says, "osha does not intend to conduct an on-site inspection in response to the subject complaint at this time."

The investigating officer is directed to, "exercise enforcement discretion when considering issuing citations" but then it's unclear what fines a company could face for failing to protect you from the coronavirus.

But lawmakers in montgomery did talk about adding protection to make it harder for employees or customers to sue a business if it doesn't do a good enough job.

Alabama is one of about 25 states that doesn't have a state osha plan, that means we fall under the federal guidelines.

The only people protected in alabama by osha are people in the private sector...meaning police officers, firefighters and anyone working for a municipality can't file an osha complaint, because we don't have that state plan.

You can file complaints anonymously.

If a company retaliates against an employee for filing a complaint that's illegal.

Live in the shoals bt waay31.