Trust at Work
“Whistleblowers to play key role in enforcing vaccine mandate”, was the headline that AP ran on November 9th. It details how the Department of Labor is going to need a lot of help enforcing President Biden’s forthcoming COVID-19 mandate. (1) That help comes in the form of the government relying “upon a corps of informers to identify violations”. How can you create a culture of trust and accountability where “whistleblowers” aren’t needed to keep your employees safe and healthy?
Background – Whistleblowers and OSHA
Before we get to what you can do to create a culture of trust where employees can report issues to you, let’s review what is happening today. Informing government agencies of an organization’s illegal, illicit, or unsafe behavior is obviously not new. Whistleblower laws are in place to protect individuals from retaliation when bringing these concerns to the attention of an enforcement representative. Any organization interested in its moral standing in society and with its employees has policies and procedures encouraging individuals to report concerns to management. These same policies denounce retaliation and its consequences. What unfortunately happens is that often state and federal agencies, with the support of organized labor, have positioned themselves as the “third-party rescuer”, to resolve issues and concerns that should be intentionally brought first to the attention of management. Almost a quarter of all OSHA inspections originate from a complaint.
Why then is the Biden administration encouraging employees to be “whistleblowers” to report violations of the vaccine mandate? Between states and territories covered under federal OSHA (29) and State Plans approved by OSHA (22), there are approximately 1850 inspectors to cover over 130 million workers at 8 million job sites.(1) The vaccine mandate will cover 84 million employees.
Even though Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is looking to add more inspectors to OSHA and the Department of Labor (DOL)(2), policing that many job sites and employees for COVID-19 vaccine mandate violations are beyond the efforts of even superheroes. A returning economy with increased construction and manufacturing, and its attendant risks will have many more health and safety concerns than just COVID-19.
FYI, OSHA has been gathering COVID-19 Whistleblower complaints since February 18, 2020, (https://www.whistleblowers.gov/covid-19-data). As of earlier this week, a total of 8217 COVID-19 whistleblower complaints have been submitted through OSHA and the state plans.
Do They Trust You?
Now, what can you do to create a culture of trust and accountability in your organization, where employees feel their concerns will be addressed by you as their employer?
- What do your words and actions say about you and your organization? Not the press releases and employee communications, but what is said during staff meetings and in the heat of when things aren’t going well.
- When things don’t go as planned, what will you tolerate? When your top performer violates a rule or policy, which way do you look – consequences or favoritism?
- Who gets to collect the trophies? In other words, what behaviors do you reward or is it all about “what ever it takes to get the job done”?
- Are your policies, rules, and procedures consistent with your stated beliefs and values as an organization? Are those beliefs and actions consistent with and supported by laws and regulations? Are you willing to accept the consequences of having violated a law or regulation and commit to what is necessary to not repeat the offense?
- Is trust and respect demonstrated to all stakeholders; employees, labor representatives, surrounding community, local and federal government, and regulatory agencies?
The fate of the vaccine mandate will be determined in the courts; however, the odds of being inspected by OSHA have never been greater going forward for all employers covered under OSHA. Do your employees and leaders trust you and your organization to address their concerns before they want to become a “whistleblower”?
(1) Wiseman, Paul. “Whistleblowers to play key role in enforcing vaccine mandate.” AP, 9 Nov 2021, https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-business-occupational-safety-and-health-administration-workplace-safety-041e5e372da62434c009676c149e50a9
(2) Hashem, Shereen. “Labor Secretary Marty Walsh Suggests More Jobs for Wage and Safety Inspectors.” OH&S, 16 Jul 2021, https://ohsonline.com/articles/2021/07/16/labor-secretary-marty-walsh-suggests-more-jobs-for-wage-and-safety-inspectors.aspx