Business Federation Sues OSHA Over Walkaround Rights Memo

Employer fears that unions will use expanded walkaround rights, articulated in a 2013 OSHA letter of interpretation, to enter workplaces and contact employees prompted a lawsuit from a business group (Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Dougherty, N.D. Tex., No. 3:16-cv-02568, 9/8/16).

The complaint, filed Sept. 8 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, is driven by concerns that the walkaround rights will facilitate union organizing, said Damien Schiff, principal attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is ...