NEW GUIDE ISSUED ON EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN JOB SAFETY COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS

Chairman Thomasina V. Rogers today announced the release of a new, easy to read booklet to assist employees and their representatives in participating in Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) proceedings that resolve workplace safety and health disputes.

"The Employee Guide to Review Commission Procedures" explains in plain English how workers and their union representatives can have their views officially heard when the Review Commission decides cases involving alleged unsafe or unhealthy conditions in American workplaces. The Review Commission is the independent Federal agency charged under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 with resolving disputes that result from contested workplace safety and health inspections. The inspections out of which these disputes arise are conducted by a different Federal agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in the U.S. Department of Labor.

Step-by-step instructions in the new guide tell employees about the two ways they may participate in the Review Commission's decision making process.  It describes in detail what employees need to do at each stage of the process, the deadlines associated with participation and examples of papers that must be filed when participating. The guide's informational assistance to employees covers the steps available once a job safety dispute reaches the Review Commission. Chairman Rogers noted, "This new guide will help workers participate more effectively in Review Commission proceedings."

OSHA, the separate agency that makes the safety and health rules, inspects workplaces to determine compliance with the rules, and issues citations and proposed penalties, has recently expanded its own informational assistance to employees who want to participate in the job safety and health enforcement process.  Employees may want to visit this new section of the OSHA Website at http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker for more information on their rights before a dispute reaches the Review Commission. The Review Commission's new employee guide is available for reading and downloading at the Review Commission's Website at http://www.oshrc.gov.