Last Friday, OSHA published an interim final rule, and invited public comment on whistleblower protections for reporting violations of Affordable Care Act’s health insurance reforms. The Affordable Care Act contains various provisions to make health insurance more affordable and accountable to consumers. Among the policies to achieve its goals, the Affordable Care Act’s Section 1558 provides protection to employees against retaliation by an employer for reporting alleged violations of Title I of the act or for receiving a tax credit or cost-sharing reduction as a result of participating in a Health Insurance Exchange or Marketplace.
The interim final rule can be viewed at www.dol.gov/find/20130222/. Comments, which will be accepted for 60 days, may be submitted electronically via the federal e-rulemaking portal at https://www.regulations.gov, or by mail or fax. Faxed submissions, including attachments, must not exceed 10 pages and should be sent to the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648. Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-2011-0193, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210.
A fact sheet about filing whistleblower complaints under the Affordable Care Act is available at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/whistleblower/OSHAFS-3641.pdf.
OSHA’s press release on this issue can be found here.