Citations that Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors issue to employers will no longer immediately be made available to the public on request, a change in policy that comes as the agency prepares to release dozens of citations stemming from virus-related inspections.
Instead, the agency is now requiring that a request be submitted under the Freedom of Information Act, a federal law that covers release of public documents. Such requests often take months before they are fulfilled and can lead to litigation before documents are produced.
Federal workplace-safety citations provide detailed explanations of alleged hazards inspectors documented during inspections. And, ...