Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL REGULATIONS—OSHA issues interim final rule on retaliation complaint procedures under the AMLA, (Jan 13, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Certain provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 prohibit retaliation against employee whistleblowers.

In tomorrow’s Federal Register, OSHA is providing the interim final text of regulations governing the anti-retaliation provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA). The anti-retaliation provisions, which appear at 31 U.S.C. § 5323 (g)(1)-(3) and (5)-(6), prohibit retaliation by an employer against a whistleblower in reprisal for the whistleblower’s protected activity of reporting certain information to certain individuals and agencies relating to violations of 31 U.S.C. chapter 53, subchapter II (31 U.S.C. §§ 5311-5336, requiring records and reports on monetary instruments transactions); 50 U.S.C. chapter 35 (50 U.S.C. §§ 1701 et seq., as amended); 50 U.S.C. § 4305 or 4312 (provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act); 21 U.S.C. §§ 1901 et seq. (the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act); or conspiracies to violate any of these provisions.

Procedures and interpretations. In the rule, the Department of Labor establishes procedures and timeframes for OSHA’s handling of retaliation complaints under the AMLA, including procedures and timeframes for complaints to the agency, its investigations, appeals to and hearings by ALJs, review of those decisions by the Administrative Review Board, and judicial review.

The interim final rule will be effective on the date of publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled to occur on January 14, 2025. Comments should be submitted by the date 60 days after the date of publication.

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