Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. Employee Rights. With regard to
§5-604 of the Act, the exercise of "a right under this title" includes a
right:
(1) Explicitly provided in the Act,
such as the right to participate as a party in an enforcement
proceeding;
(2) Which exists by
necessary implication, including the right of an employee to:
(a) Request information from the
Commissioner, or
(b) Be interviewed
by an inspector in the course of an inspection or investigation.
B. Refusal to Perform a
Job. Although the Act affords an employee no general right to refuse to perform
a job because of potential unsafe conditions at the workplace, the protections
of §5-604 of the Act apply when:
(1) An
employee:
(a) Is confronted with a choice
between not performing an assigned task or being subjected to serious injury or
death arising from a hazardous condition at the workplace,
(b) Has no reasonable alternative,
and
(c) Refuses in good faith to
expose himself or herself to the dangerous condition; and
(2) The condition causing the employee's
apprehension of death or injury is of such a nature that a reasonable
individual, under the circumstances then confronting the employee, would
conclude that:
(a) There is a real danger of
death or serious injury,
(b) There
is insufficient time, due to the urgency of the situation, to eliminate the
danger through resort to regular MOSH statutory enforcement channels or to seek
the assistance of another public agency which has responsibility in the field
of safety and health, and
(c) The
employee, if possible, has sought correction of the dangerous conditions from
the employer, and has been unable to obtain a correction.
C. Other Refusals. Except in the
circumstances detailed in §B(1) and (2) of this regulation, the
protections of §5-604 of the Act generally do not apply when an employer
disciplines an employee for refusing to perform normal job activities because
of alleged safety or health hazards.
D. Complaints. With regard to §5-604(b)
of the Act, a "complaint under or related to this title" includes but is not
limited to:
(1) A request for inspection under
§5-209;
(2) Complaints
regarding conditions at the workplace registered with the Commissioner, with a
federal, State, or local agency with authority regarding occupational safety
and health conditions, or with such an agency that the employee, in good faith,
believes has authority regarding occupational safety and health conditions;
and
(3) Complaints regarding
conditions at the workplace made in good faith to an employer, management
supervisor, or other employee serving in a supervisory capacity.
