Workers deserve to be safe on the job and to participate in OSHA inspections of their workplace. The Biden Administration issued a new rule in 2024 clarifying the right of workers to designate a representative during OSHA inspection.
Sur Legal Collaborative, Worksafe, Justice at Work Pennsylvania, National Black Worker Center, National Employment Law Project, and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health filed an amicus curiae brief calling on a federal judge in Texas to rule for OSHA in a meritless Big Business lawsuit designed to stop OSHA’s “walkaround” rule from taking effect. FarmSTAND and The Law Office of John E. Wall, Jr. represent the amici in this Western District of Texas case.
FarmSTAND represented these “friends of the court” to defend this rule to enhance worker safety protections. In the brief, the amici note that workers’ right to participate in the OSHA inspection process by designating a representative is longstanding, that this right is not limited to the small minority of workers who are unionized, and that third-party representatives are practically useful to the inspection process, by building trust between workers and OSHA, facilitating open and accurate communication, and providing specific expertise in fire safety, hazmat, heat safety, engineering, and more. The amicus brief also explores why non-unionized workers stand to benefit the most from this representation.