Employee guide

OSHA, EEOC or DOL: where do I report a workplace problem?

By Verity Workplace. Information for US workers. Sources checked .

Quick answer: OSHA publishes workplace safety and certain whistleblower reporting information. The EEOC publishes employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation reporting information. The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division publishes wage, overtime and family-leave complaint information. State agencies may have additional processes. These are starting points for reading, not a decision that an agency covers your situation.

Which official resources address each concern?

A problem can involve more than one topic. Use the official pages to check the agency scope and filing process rather than forcing your story into one category.

  • Unsafe or unhealthy work: read OSHA safety complaint information.
  • Discrimination or harassment: read EEOC filing information.
  • Missing wages, overtime or family and medical leave: read Wage and Hour Division information.
  • State wage or leave questions: find the relevant state labor office.
  • Retaliation: check the resource for the activity you reported; agencies do not all handle the same retaliation issues.

What should you document?

Prepare a factual account you can use with whichever official process you choose. The agency may request its own forms and additional information.

  • Employer identity and worksite location.
  • Dates and a plain description of what happened.
  • Original supporting records and relevant witnesses.
  • Earlier reports and the response or lack of response.
  • Any later treatment changes, recorded separately.
  • Questions about coverage, identity requirements and deadlines.

Do I have to wait for the employer?

Do not use Verity response windows as a reason to delay checking official time limits. The EEOC says other dispute processes generally do not extend its filing deadlines. Safety hazards may need urgent attention. Check the relevant agency directly while considering your next step.

What mistakes should you avoid?

Verity helps you keep the record. You contact the agency yourself if you choose.

  • Assuming one agency covers every workplace problem.
  • Assuming Verity submits or selects a government complaint for you.
  • Treating the employer response clock as a government filing deadline.
  • Assuming a government process has the same privacy choices as Verity.

Where Verity fits

Write your complaint in your own words, add the key details, then choose what happens next. Your original record stays private. Nothing is sent to your employer until you review the employer version and choose to send it. Employees can create, keep and download their record for free.

Verity is an independent record service, not a government agency, law firm or emergency service. It does not file for you, choose an agency, give legal advice or guarantee anonymity. You choose whether to share with your employer and whether to use your record elsewhere.

Official sources

These official US resources explain their own processes and coverage. Check current instructions directly. Saving a complaint with Verity does not pause outside deadlines.

Related guides

Continue with the part of the complaint process you need next.