How to File a Workplace Safety and Health Complaint with UOSH
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 gives employees the right to file complaints about workplace safety and health hazards. Complaints from employees and their representatives are taken seriously.
If you would like to file a complaint to report hazards to UOSH, choose one of the following:
* If there is an emergency or the hazard is immediately life-threatening call 1-801-530-6901.
* Download the UOSH complaint form, complete it and then fax or mail it to UOSH:
Labor Commission
Utah Occupational Safety & Health Division
160 East 300 South
PO Box 146650
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6650
Fax No. 801- 530-7606
* To report report workplace situations of imminent danger of death or serious injury call 801-530-6903, or 801-530-6494.
(The OSH Act gives complainants the right to request that their names not be revealed to their employers.)
*File your complaint NOW, online. (Note: Most online complaints are addressed by UOSH's phone/fax system.) Written, signed complaints submitted to UOSH are more likely to result in onsite UOSH inspections, see complaint handling process. If you are concerned about confidentiality, you may prefer to file your complaint from your home computer or local library.
Additional Information
* For more information on filing a complaint, see the following:
When Can a Complaint Be Filed?
What Information Must the Employee Give?
How does OSHA Respond to Complaints?
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When Can a Complaint Be Filed?
UOSH recommends that employees try to resolve safety and health issues first by reporting them to their supervisors, managers or the safety and health committee. At any time, however, employees can complain to their UOSH Office and ask for an inspection or an investigation.
Employees or their representatives have a right to request an inspection of a workplace if they believe there is a violation of a safety or health standard, or if there is any danger that threatens physical harm, or if an "imminent danger" exists. Anyone who knows about a workplace safety or health hazard may complain, and UOSH will investigate the concerns reported.
What Information Must the Employee Give?
The employees or their representatives must provide enough information for UOSH to determine the nature of the safety or health hazards and whether they are potential violations of safety or health standards or other dangers that can cause injury or illness. This means describing the alleged hazard in enough detail so UOSH can determine the existence and seriousness of the hazard. Workers do not have to know whether a specific OSHA standard has been violated in order to file a complaint, as long as they have a good-faith belief that dangerous conditions exist in their workplace.
Because it is important to give as much complete and accurate information as possible about an alleged hazard, answers to the following types of questions may be useful:
* How many employees work in the establishment and how many are exposed to the hazard?
* What is the nature of the exposure?
* What type of work is performed in the unsafe or unhealthful area?
* What type of equipment is used? What is its condition?
* What materials and/or are chemicals used?
* What process and/or operation is involved?
* What kinds of work are done nearby?
* How often and for how long do employees work at the task that leads to their exposure?
* How long (to your knowledge) has the condition existed?
* Have any attempts been made to correct the condition?
* How many shifts work in the area and what times do they start? On what shifts does the condition exist?
* What personal protective equipment is required by the employer and is the equipment used by the employees?
* Has anyone been injured as a result of this condition?
The following are some additional specific questions for health hazards:
* Has the employer administered any tests to determine if employees are exposed to the hazardous condition or substance?
* What are these tests and the results of the tests?
* What steps has the employer taken, if any, to control the hazard?
* Do any employees have any symptoms that they think are caused by the hazardous condition or substance?
* Have any employees been treated by a doctor for a work-related disease or condition? What was it?
* Have there been any "near-miss" incidents?
How does UOSH Respond to Complaints?
There are two ways that UOSH can respond to a complaint. UOSH can either perform an on-site inspection or an off-site investigation, also known as a "phone/fax investigation".
While every worker has a right to receive an onsite inspection if certain conditions are met, there are times when a phone/fax (or letter) investigation may be a better alternative. A phone/fax investigation enables UOSH to respond more quickly to lower priority hazards. It also permits the agency to concentrate it's resources on more serious workplace hazards. Employees who choose to request a phone/fax investigation do not give up the right to request an on-site inspection of potential violations and hazards if they are not satisfied by the investigation. Before deciding what kind of complaint to file, workers should call the UOSH Office to discuss their options.
If an off-site investigation is appropriate, the agency telephones the employer, describes the alleged hazards and then follows up with a fax or letter. The employer must respond in writing within five days, identifying any problems found and noting corrective actions taken or planned. If the response is adequate, UOSH generally will not conduct an inspection. The employee or employee representative who filed the original complaint will receive a copy of the employer's response and, if still not satisfied, may then request an on-site inspection.
If the employee or employee representative files a written complaint that meets certain conditions then an on-site inspection may be conducted.
Those conditions include claims of serious physical harm that have already resulted in disabling injuries or illnesses or claims of imminent danger situations; written, signed complaints requesting inspections; and situations where the employer provided an inadequate response to a phone/fax investigation.