OSHA FACTSHEET SOX ACT

1 Relatingto al legedmail fraud,wire fraud,bankfraud,sec ur ities fraud,vi ol at ion(s) of SECrul esandregulati ons, or vi ol ati on(s) of Federallawrelatingto anemployertak es ret al iat or y ac tionagainstanemployeebecause heor sheengagedin anyoftheseprotec tedac ti vi ti es , theemployeecanfile acomplaintwith vor ab le Emp loyme ntAct ionsAn emplo yer maybe foundto have vi olat edSOXif th e employe e s protect ed activi ty wasacont ri bu ting fa ctor in the employ er s deci sion totak e unf avorable emplo yment acti on against theemplo yee.

2 Su ch actio ns mayinc lude: Fi ringor layingoff Blac kl isti ng Demoting Denyingoverti meor pr omotion Disc ipl ini ng Denyingbenefit s Failingto hi re or rehire Int imidation Makingthr eats Reassignmentaf fectingpr os pects forpr omotion Reducingpayor hoursDeadlin e fo r Filin g Comp la in tsComplai nt s must befiledwit hi n 180daysaft eranal legedvi ol at ionof SOX or af ter thedate onwhich theemployeebecameawar e of thevi ol ati employee,or representativeof anemployee,whobelievesthatheor shehasbeenretaliatedagains t in violat ionof SOXmayfil ea complai nt wi th er ed Compan iesA companyis coveredbysection806of theSar banes-O xleyActof 2002(SOX)if it hasa classof secur iti es regist eredunderSection12of theSec uri ti es ExchangeActor is requiredto filerep ort s un derSection15(d)of iaries,contractors,subcontractors,or agentsmayals o 21,2010,theSarbanes-OxleyActwasamendedby th e Dodd-Fr an k WallStreetRefor man d Con sumerPr ot ectionAct (PublicLaw111-203)

3 To extend coverageto nationallyrecognizedstatisti calrating organizat ions,..asdefinedinSec tio n 3(a)of theSecurities ExchangeAct,andth eircontractors , subcontractors andagents. Protect ed ActivityAnemployercoveredunderSOXmaynotd ischarge or in anymannerretaliat e againstanemployeebecauseheor she: pro videdin formation cau sedinformationto bepr ovided,or assisted in an investigationby a federal regulat ory or law enforcementag ency a Member or c ommittee of Congress, or an internal i nvest igation by the companyrel ati ng to al le ged mail fraud, wire fraud,ba nk fraud, securities fraud, violation(s) of SEC rules and re gulations, or violati on(s)of Federal l aw relating to fraud again stshare holders.

4 In addit ion, an employer may not discharge or in any manner retaliate against an employee because he or sh e filed, caused to be filed, partic ipated in or assisted in a proceeding FactSheetFil ing Whi stl ebl owe r Complaints underthe Sa rban es-Ox ley Ac t Employ ees who wor k fo r pub licly tr aded compa nie s or compa nies t hat arerequire d to file c erta in re po rts w ith t he Sec urit ies and Exchange Commission(S EC) are p rotec te d fro m r et alia tion for re porting alle ge d ma il, wire, bank, orsecurities fraud; violat io n(s) of SEC r ules and r eg ulat ions; or viola tion(s) ofFeder al la w relat ing t o f rau d against shar eholde to File a SOX Complain t An employee can file a SOX complaint with OSHAby visi tin g or c all ing their local OSHA office at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or sending a written compl aint to their closest OSHA regional or ar ea of fic e.

5 Writ ten complaints may be filed byfac simile, hand delive ry during business hours, mail (confi rmation ser vi ces recommended),or other t hi rd- party commercial carrier. For writtencompl aints, the date the complaint is sent via fac -simile, h and d el ivered, post marked, or deliveredto a thi rd -party commercial carrier is consider edth e date filed. N o particular form is required andcompl aints may be submitted in any language. For OSHA area office contact information, please c all 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or m us t be fil ed wit hin 180 days of thealleged d is crimination or of when the employeelearned o f t he alleged discrimi nation (see Deadlin e f or Filing Complaints section fordetails).

6 Upon receipt of a complaint, OSHA will first review it to determine whether it is avalid co mplaint allegation ( , ti meliness orjurisdict ion). All complaints are investigated inaccordance wi th the statut ory requirements see29 CFR Part su lts of th e Inves tig atio nIf the eviden ce supports an employee s claim ofretaliatio n and a settlement cannot be reached,OSHA w ill issue an order requiring the employerto reinstat e t he employee, pay back wages,restore benefits, and other possible relief to makethe employee whole, including:Thi s i s one in a series of informational fact sheet s highlighting OSHA programs, policies or sta ndar ds.

7 I t does not impose any new compliance requirements. F or a comprehensive list of compliance requirements of OSHA standards or re gula tions, refer to Title 29 of the Code of FederalRegul ations. Thi s information will be made ava ilable to se nsory-impaire d individua ls upon voi ce phone is (202) 69 3-1 999 ; teletypewrite r (TTY) number: (877) 889-5627. Rei ns tatement w ith the same seniority status. Payment of back pay with int er est. Compensat ion for special damages, at torney sfees, expert w it ness f ees, and liti gation s f indings and order become the final or der of t he Sec ret ar y of Labor, unless they ar eappealed wi thi n 30 days.

8 Af ter O SHA is sues i ts fi ndings and order, eitherparty may request a f ul l hearing before an administrat ive law judge of t he Department ofLabor. The admini st rati ve law j udge s decisionand or der may be appealed to the Departm ent sAdmini str ati ve Review Board. If a fi nal agency order i s not i ssued within 180days fr om the date t he employee s complaint isfil ed, t hen the employee may fi le t he complaint i nthe appropriate United Stat es di strict Get Furt he r In fo rma tio nFor a copy of the Sarbanes -O xley Act, the regul ations (29 CFR 1980), and o th er information,go to sha.

9 Gov and clic k on the link for Whist leblo wer Pro gram. For in fo rmation o n t he Off ic e of AdministrativeLaw Judg es p ro ced ures and c as e l aw researchmaterials, g o to ov and cl ick on t helin k fo r Whis tl eblower. For in fo rmation o n Federal sec uriti es laws, rulesand regulat io ns or f or in formation on publiclytraded compan ies , g o t o ec . F S- 3490 1 2/2 01 . D epar tmen t o f La bo sh ov (800 ) 32 1-OS HA (6742)Fo r a ss ist an ce , c ont act us. We can h elp . It s con fide nti pati on alSaf et y and Heal thAdministr at io