On January 28, 2016, OSHA issued a revised Whistleblower Investigations Manual (“Manual”) outlining procedures for the handling of retaliation complaints under the various whistleblower statutes that OSHA oversees. Chapter 3 of the Manual, titled “Conduct of the Investigation,” states that the burden of proof to be applied by investigators is “whether there is a reasonable cause to believe that a violation occurred.” Notably, the revision to the Manual is consistent with OSHA’s May 2015 Guidance Memorandum that first sought to clarify the standard applicable to whistleblower investigations... Continue Reading