Worker Legal Services and Education Groups File Amicus Brief on Need for OSHA ‘Walkaround’ Rule
A variety of national and state-based organizations that provide education and legal services to workers have filed an amicus brief in defense of a critical Biden Administration rule related to worker safety protections.
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 are 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.
The walkaround rule clarifies that the Occupational Safety & Health Act allows workers to designate a third-party employee representative to aid OSHA’s inspection of their physical worksite.
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.
“All workers deserve to have a safe workplace. OSHA’s clarification of the walkaround rule is a necessary and lawful measure by our government in a nation with far too many workplace injuries and deaths,” said Skye Walker of FarmSTAND, who represents the amici in this filing.
“Employers with nothing to hide have nothing to fear from a worker-elected representative accompanying an OSHA inspector around a workplace.”