In an effort to strengthen employees' voices in the workplace, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is moving its Office of the Whistleblower Protection Program so that it now reports directly to the agency's Office of the Assistant Secretary rather than its Directorate of Enforcement Programs.

According to Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels, who heads OSHA and now directly oversees the program, this move marks an elevated priority status for whistleblower enforcement.

"The ability of workers to speak out and exercise their rights without fear of retaliation provides the backbone for some of American workers' most essential legal protections," Michaels says. "OSHA's internal improvement initiatives, including this realignment, demonstrate the agency's steadfast commitment to strengthening a program that is critically important to the protection of worker rights."

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