POLICY

A. Purpose

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) Employee ES&H Concerns Reporting Policy defines workers' rights to express concerns related to worker safety and health.

B. Persons Affected

All employees of and visitors to Berkeley Lab.

C. Exceptions

None.

D. Policy Statement

General Safety Concerns

1. Workers have the right to express their concerns related to worker safety and health. Federal law prohibits Berkeley Lab from making reprisals against workers who raise safety concerns.
2. Workers or former workers are encouraged to file an environment, safety, and health (ES&H) concern with their immediate supervisors.
   1. If the immediate supervisor is unable to resolve the concern, workers may take their ES&H concerns to higher-level managers, the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Division Director, or the local U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) office.
3. Berkeley Lab has established the Environment, Safety & Health Concerns Web page for workers to report, without reprisal, job-related injuries, illnesses, fatalities, incidents, and hazards, and to recommend ways to control those hazards. The EHS Division Office can be reached at (510) 486-5514. The Berkeley Lab Research Compliance Office Web site also has information regarding the whistleblower policy, and provides a number of 24-hour hotlines of potential use to Laboratory employees.
   1. Laboratory workers have access to UC whistleblower procedures, which provide a process for reporting events and hazards. Concerns may be submitted by calling the UC Employee Hotline at (800) 403-4744. This toll-free number is available 24 hours per day every day of the week, and is operated by a third-party vendor for confidentiality and anonymity.
   2. Under 10 CFR 708, employees also may file concerns (not limited to ES&H) with the DOE Chicago Office Employee Concerns Program Manager's 24-hour hotline at (800) 701-9966. Employees of DOE contractors have the right to file confidential complaints with the local DOE office within 60 days regarding safety and health issues or reprisals. Workers may file a concern with the DOE Employee ES&H Concerns Program.

Differing Professional Opinions for Technical Issues Relating to ES&H Concerns

1. The DOE has a Differing Professional Opinion (DPO) process for workers to raise technical concerns related to ES&H issues that cannot be resolved using routine processes. The DPO process — which addresses ES&H technical issues — may be used by all personnel who work at the Laboratory. If the immediate supervisor is unable to resolve the issue, workers may take their ES&H issue to higher-level managers, the EHS Division Director, or the local DOE office. The DPO process should not be used as the first step to report concerns.
2. The objectives of the DPO process are to:
   1. Encourage workers to raise ES&H technical concerns and to use the DPO process when routine work processes fail to resolve ES&H technical concerns.
   2. Provide reasonable time and resources for workers to use the DPO process.
   3. Protect workers from reprisal or retaliation for reporting DPOs.
3. Use the following link to access the DOE DPO process: https://www.energy.gov/ehss/doe-differing-professional-opinions

E. Roles and Responsibilities

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None.

H. Implementing Documents

I. Contact Information

Division Office
EHS Division

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• Contract 31, Clause I.123, DEAR 970.5204-2, Laws, Regulations, and DOE Directives (Dec. 2000) (Deviation) (prev. I.079)
• Contract 31, Appendix I, Environment, Safety, and Health Standards for LBNL
• DOE Order 442.1A, DOE Employee ES&H Concerns Program
• DOE Order 442.2, Differing Professional Opinions for Technical Issues Involving Environment, Safety, and Health Technical Concerns 10 CFR 851.20(b)(7)