On April 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ruled that any individual who provides information to an OSHA inspector is protected by the “informer’s privilege” which protects the identity of the informer from disclosure.  The Commission concluded that the privilege applies to any individual providing information and not just to those individuals who gave “negative or complaining” information.  The contractor attempted to obtain telephone records from Verizon Wireless concerning the cell phone records of the OSHA inspector who had been investigating the construction company in question.  The Commission further noted that the construction company had other means of obtaining information about the circumstances which prompted the OSHA citations.  The Commission specifically noted that the contractor had been given statements from witnesses which had been gathered by the construction contractor’s insurance carrier, statements collected by the general contractor, and the transcript from a workers’ compensation hearing held for injured employees.  The proposed of $45,000.00 in this case also serves to underscore the reminder contained in the Commission decision that construction companies need to take compliance with safety matters very seriously and very limited discovery will be available in attempting to disprove a willful violation.                                     By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney