OSHA seeks nominations for members to serve on the Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee

OSHA seeks to fill 12 committee positions

By Jesse Lawder

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that nominations are being accepted for members to serve on the Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee.

WPAC was established to advise and make recommendations to the secretary of labor and the assistant secretary for occupational safety and health on ways to improve the fairness, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of OSHA's whistleblower protection activities.

OSHA seeks to fill 12 committee positions that will become vacant Jan. 1, 2015. The agency is initiating staggered terms whereby six members will be appointed to one-year terms and six will be appointed to two-year terms. OSHA is seeking to fill one public, one State Occupational Safety and Health Plan, two management and two labor representatives to one-year terms. The agency also seeks to fill two management, two labor and two public representatives to two-year terms. Additionally, the committee will have three non-voting members selected by the secretary of labor who are government employees from other federal agencies that have jurisdiction over statutes with whistleblower provisions. Current committee members can be re-nominated.

Nominations may be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal, by mail or facsimile. See the Federal Register notice for submission details. Nominations must be submitted by May 12, 2014.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various securities laws, trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, rail, maritime, health care, workplace safety and health regulations, and consumer product safety laws.