The Corporate Capture Of OSHA & The US Government Corruption Cover-up

WorkWeek interviews Dr. Darrell Whitman, a former lawyer and investigator with the OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program.
He was coerced and prevented from representing OSHA whistleblower's who had been retaliated by their employers because the agency had been captured by the corporations that he was supposed to be doing oversight over.

He also was fired by Tom Perez who was Secretary of Labor under the Obama administration.

The interview was done near the annual anniversary of Workers Memorial Day on April 28, 2022 to commemorate workers
killed and injured on the job.

For more information on his report go to:
Diogenes Project
drdarrellwhitman.substack.com

Additional media:
On Workers Memorial Day 2021 Former OSHA WPP Lawyer & Investigator Darrell Whitman Speaks Out!
https://youtu.be/9ZL9cSolNFw

OSHA Corruption, Cover-up & US Inspector Generals With OHSA Whistleblower & Lawyer Darrell Whitman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDPQpqmUq2k

OSHA Corruption, Cover-up & US Inspector Generals With OHSA Whistleblower & Lawyer Darrell Whitman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDPQpqmUq2k

OSHA, Corruption & The Capture of US Inspector Generals With Whistleblower Darrell Whitman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUVIu-Op8Wg&t=33s

The Office Of Special Counsel OSC, Corruption, Kerner & OSHA WPP Whistleblower Lawyer Whitman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCxYm65qwaI
Darrell Whitman, Culture of Corruption
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/ww10-15-18-darrell-whitman-osc-culture-of-corruption-gap-the-democrats
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/ww7-13-18-darrell-whitman-osha-tom-devine-tom-perez-and-osc-corruption
https://www.financial-planning.com/news/labor-department-wells-fargo-fake-account-whistleblowers
Darrell Whitman & Whistleblowers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdO8QHT7ptY
The $1 Billion Hunters Point Eco-Fraud
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/ww4-11-18-peer-jeff-ruch-on-the-1-billion-hunters-point-shipyard-test-falsifications

WorkWeek
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio
workweeknow(at)gmail.com
#laborradionetwork #LaborRadioPod #1u #UnionStrong
@workweek-radio

Diogenes Project
drdarrellwhitman.substack.com

REPORT – 1, Part B (b):
OSHA Obstruction of Whistleblower Investigations

Dr. Darrell L. Whitman
Apr 16

EPA complaints reflecting specific and substantial threats to environmental health and safety.

1. EMLab P&K, LLC/Madry/9-3070-11-001 was filed with OSHA Region 9 under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) on 01 October 2010 by Michael Madry, theWestern Regional Manager for EMLab P&K, a wholly owned subsidiary of TestAmerica owned by venture capital group, HIG Capital. Madry filed his complaint as a supporting witness for Dr. Edward Kot, EMLab P&K ’s national Director of Quality Assurance, who filed an OSHA whistleblower complaint against the company on 23 April 2010, after he had been fired for reporting serious misconduct in the production of asbestos tests.[i]

Madry alleged he suffered a hostile workplace, defaming attacks on his personal integrity, involuntary medical leave, depravation of his employment rights, and termination after reporting an investigation into the company’s asbestos testing requested by a federal auditor confirmed EMLabs P&K was producing false asbestos tests by using an unapproved technology that allowed test to be auto-populated from one sample to another, enabling EMLabs P&K to produce asbestos test results at rates much higher than could be achieved by following standard asbestos testing protocols.

A) How was the investigation obstructed? CAA and TSCA mandate OSHA complete WBPP investigations within 30 days, but with different standards of proof for defending against merit findings.[ii] OSHA Region 9 RSI Joshua B. Paul assigned the investigation to OSHA Region 9 attorney-investigator Darrell Whitman on 01 October 2010. Whitman had already conducted interviews with Madry and Kot, and had reviewed Kot’s extensive documentation that supported Madry’s allegations. Whitman’s remaining tasks were to obtain a statement from the company defending its actions, which Whitman requested on 01 October 2010, and interview a Madry’s witness, a company official, which Whitman did on 07 October 2010. Taken together, the documents and witness statements confirmed a merit recommendation.

The company could defeat a preliminary finding of merit only by providing a preponderance of evidence showing the company did not engage in retaliation. within the 30 days. However, beginning 07 October 2010, company attorney, Arthur Sapper, who headed the “OSHA Practice Group” for the politically powerful law firm, McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP engaged in foot-dragging and witness tampering making it impossible for Whitman to complete a timely 30-dayinvestigation. Whitman reported this RSI Paul, assuming RSI Paul would follow WBPP protocol and order a merit investigative report based on the evidence available. However, RSI Paulinstead ordered Whitman to conduct more investigation and engage in settlement discussions, delaying the investigation for another 10 months, far beyond the statutory 30-day timeframe.

On 11 August 2011, when Whitman submitted a merit investigative report, which RSI Paul held for 6 months, repeatedly telling Madry and Whitman he was nearing completion of his review. At this same time, RSI Paul was holding his review of Kot’s investigative report, until December 2011, when, without informing Whitman, RSI Paul secretly attempted to settle Kot’s complaint with a minimum offer from the company, a violation of WBPP protocols. Kot rejected RSI-Paul’s intervention referring the matter to his attorney, who obtained a much larger settlement, which included a clause noting, “the parties agreed to a settlement after OSHA was considering issuing merit findings and sending out a press release.”[iii]

RSI Paul then turned to Madry, who had repeatedly complained about RSI Paul’s obstructions of the investigation, including an appeal to Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, David Michaelsin February 2012.[iv] On 15 June 2012, after delaying a statutorily mandated 30-day investigation for 625 days and settling the companion case three months earlier, RSI Paul told Madry the Secretary’s Findings in his case were still “under review”. Madry responded saying, “If you don’t see the benefits or don’t understand your role in the whistleblower program, perhaps OSHA should consider replacing you with someone that does.[v]

What RSI Paul concealed from Madry was the review of his case was being conducted by OSHA Region 9 Assistant Regional Administrator (ARA), James Wulff, who had exhibited animus toward Madry and now was refusing to approve a merit finding for his case.[vi] Shortly after his 15 June 2011 emails with Madry, RSI Paul emailed Whitman ordering Whitman to revise his merit investigative report and dismiss Madry’s complaint but not contact Madry to tell him this result, yet another violation of OSHA WBPP protocols which require the investigator conduct a closing conference.[vii]

This mid-June 2012 incident triggered a long string of retaliation by senior OSHA officials against Madry, including serious misconduct by OSHA Region 9 ARA James Wulff, OSHA Region 9 ARA James Dement, OSHA Region 9 RA Kenneth Atha, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, David Michaels, Secretary of Labor, Thomas E. Perez, Department of Labor, Inspector General, Scott S. Dahl, DoL Administrative Law Judge Steven Berlin, as well as OSHA Region 9 RSI Paul,which resulted in a 1,133 day obstruction of Madry’s investigation. On 27 January 2016, DoL Administrative Law Judge, Berlin, collaborated with the company to limit Madry’s damages by openly admitting it purpose was to conceal the extent of the company’s misconduct, designed to conceal EMLabs P&K’s producing false asbestos tests.[viii]

OSHA obstructed a whistleblower investigation of EMLabs P&K to conceal collaboration between EMLabs P&K and Engineering, Remediation Resources Group, Inc., a company working under a minority set-aside contract with the U.S Naval Facilities Engineering Command, to use of falsified environmental tests for a $1 billion remediation project at Hunter’s Point in San Francisco.

B) Why was the investigation obstructed: There are two important takeaways from the obstruction of this investigation.

1) A subsequent extended investigation by Whitman into Madry’s complaint revealed clear and convincing evidence EMLabs P&K had collaborated with Engineering/Remediation Resources Group, Inc. (EERG), a company working under a “minority set-aside” contract with the U.S Naval Facilities Engineering Command to use EMLab P&K disqualified asbestos tests in a billion-dollar remediation project at Hunter’s Point, in San Francisco.[ix] Thus, obstructing this investigation would serve to conceal the web of powerful political connections protect the financial and political interests of a large group of local, state, and national politicians, including: Willie Brown, Vice-President Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, her billionaire real estate mogul and husband, Richard Blum, Congressperson Nancy Pelosi, the EPA, Navy, and EERG.[x]

2) McDermott, Will & Emery, LLP, which provided legal representation to EMLabs P&K, had a deep, long-term relationship with the venture capital group, H.I.G. Capital, the beneficial owner of the company, which was grooming the company for sale. It also had a close, long-term relationship with the Democrat Party, acting as a major source of fund-raising, and employer of former federal employees – in this case Arthur Sapper, a former OSHA attorney. In this case, obstructing Madry’s OSHA WBPP investigation would also serve multiple financial and political interests of McDermott, Will & Emery, including but not limited to their collaborative relationship with H.I.G. Capital and the Democrat Party.