OSHA Issues Long-Awaited SOX Whistleblower Rule

On March 5, 2015, OSHA issued a long-awaited Final Rule regarding SOX whistleblower procedures and related matters. The new Final Rule will replace the Interim Final Rule enacted in 2011, after Dodd-Frank amended SOX. The Final Rule largely follows the Interim Final Rule, even though commenters expressed a range of serious concerns. One key revision that was implemented in the Final Rule based on response from commenters was a procedure requiring each party's filings to be shared with the other party.

As an initial matter, Dodd-Frank amended several key provisions of Section 806 of SOX and expanded protections for employee-whistleblowers. For example, it changed the SOX statute of limitations for filing a complaint from 90 to 180 days. And it expanded the SOX definition of "covered employers" to include subsidiaries and affiliates of publicly traded entities and national credit-rating agencies. OSHA's Interim Final Rule enacted in November 2011 implemented those