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Work & Unemployment

Reporting dangerous working conditions to PR OSHA

Last reviewed: August 15, 2026 — VerifiedDepartamento del Trabajo

In short

Puerto Rico’s Occupational Safety and Health Act, Ley 16 of 1975, as amended, was passed to prevent workers from dying or being injured at work, and gives employees the right to file complaints about safety and health hazards. That same law gives the complainant the right to ask that their name not be disclosed to their employer. Employees or their representatives can request that PR OSHA inspect their workplace if they believe a standard was violated, if there is a hazard posing a threat of physical harm, or if an imminent danger exists; and anyone with knowledge of a hazard can complain. There are five routes, but they do not perform equally: PR OSHA warns that most complaints filed electronically are worked through its telephone and fax system and may be resolved informally with the employer, while written, signed complaints submitted to the Central Office or the nearest Area Office are more likely to result in inspections. If you were penalized for exercising your rights, the discrimination complaint has 30 days from when you learned of the action.

External link

Go to the official site

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www.trabajo.pr.gov

What is it?

Ley 16 of 1975 requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions free of known hazards, and creates Puerto Rico’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (PR OSHA), which sets, adopts and enforces workplace safety and health standards, and also provides information, training and assistance to workers and employers. Workers can file complaints asking PR OSHA to inspect their workplace if they believe their employer is not complying with safety and health standards or if hazards exist that could cause them occupational injuries or illnesses. The agency expressly says it will keep your information confidential.

Who can do it?

Employees or their representatives have the right to request an inspection of their workplace if they believe a safety or health standard has been violated, or if there is a hazard posing a threat of physical harm, or if an “imminent danger” exists. And wider still: anyone with knowledge of a workplace safety or health hazard can complain, and PR OSHA will investigate the reported concerns. Workers do not have to know whether a particular safety and health standard has been violated in order to file; what they must provide is information relevant to the nature of the existing hazard, enough for PR OSHA to determine that one probably exists.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Try internally first, but you are not obliged to wait

    PR OSHA recommends that employees first try to resolve safety and health matters by informing their supervisors, managers or the workplace Safety and Health Committee. But it says so as a recommendation, not a requirement: at any time employees can complain to the Central Office or the nearest Area Office and request an inspection or investigation.

  2. Step 2: Decide whether you actually want an inspection

    This is the part that changes the outcome, and PR OSHA publishes it in plain words. Most complaints filed electronically are worked through PR OSHA’s telephone and fax system, which means they may be resolved informally by phone with your employer. Written, signed complaints submitted to the Central Office or the Area Office nearest your workplace, by contrast, are more likely to result in workplace inspections. If what is needed is for someone to come and look, write and sign.

  3. Step 3: Ask that your employer not be told who filed

    Ley 16 of 1975 gives complainants the right to ask that their names not be disclosed to their employers, and PR OSHA says a worker can tell it not to let the employer know who filed. Ask for it expressly when you file. The agency also states it will keep your information confidential.

  4. Step 4: The five routes

    First, file the complaint electronically to prosha@trabajo.pr.gov if you believe your working conditions are unsafe or unhealthy. Second, obtain PR OSHA’s complaint form electronically, complete it and mail it to the corresponding Area Office, or ask the office for a copy of the form; be sure to include name, postal address and phone. Third, call the Area Office by phone to discuss your complaint. Fourth, file a discrimination complaint if your employer penalized you. Fifth, if there is an emergency or the hazard is an immediate threat to life, contact the corresponding Area Office or PR OSHA’s Central Office.

  5. Step 5: If you were punished for complaining: 30 days

    It is against the law for an employer to fire, demote, transfer or discriminate against a worker for having filed a complaint or exercised another right under the law. The discrimination complaint also covers being penalized for refusing to work when facing an imminent danger of death or serious injury without enough time for PR OSHA to carry out an inspection. You have 30 days from the moment you learned of the discriminatory actions to bring the complaint.

  6. Step 6: What the law gives you beyond the complaint

    Under Ley 16 of 1975 a worker has the right to receive information and training about hazards and preventive methods, as well as the PR OSHA standards that apply to their workplace, and the training must be given in a language you can understand. Also to observe the testing carried out to find hazards and obtain its results; to review the records of work-related injuries and illnesses; to obtain copies of medical records; to request that PR OSHA inspect the workplace; and to exercise these rights without retaliation or discrimination.

Where to do it

By email to prosha@trabajo.pr.gov, or in writing and signed to PR OSHA’s Central Office or the Area Office nearest your workplace, which is the route most likely to produce an inspection. You can also call the Area Office to discuss the complaint. PR OSHA additionally links the federal form at https://www.osha.gov/workers/file-complaint.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If what you want is an inspector on site, do not rely on email alone: PR OSHA says those complaints tend to be worked by telephone and fax and may be resolved informally with the employer. If you fear retaliation, expressly ask that your name not be disclosed; it is a right Ley 16 recognizes. If you do not know which standard is being violated, file anyway: you do not need to know. If the danger is an immediate threat to life, do not write, call. If you have already been penalized, a 30-day clock is running from when you learned of it. This guide does not say how long PR OSHA takes to inspect, whether the complaint has a cost, or what fines it imposes: those pages publish none of that. Nor does it list the Area Office addresses, which PR OSHA keeps in its Contact section. PRFácil gives no legal advice.

Common mistakes

  • Filing only by email when what is needed is an on-site inspection.
  • Not expressly asking that your name not be disclosed to the employer.
  • Believing you must know which specific standard was violated in order to file.
  • Believing you must be an employee: anyone with knowledge of the hazard can file.
  • Sending the form without name, postal address and phone, leaving no way to contact you.
  • Letting the 30 days for the discrimination complaint lapse after retaliation.
  • Writing an email when the hazard is an immediate threat to life, instead of calling.

Frequently asked questions

Will my employer find out it was me?

Ley 16 of 1975 gives complainants the right to request that their names not be disclosed to their employers, and PR OSHA says a worker can tell it not to let the employer know who filed. It also states it will keep your information confidential.

Which route works best?

PR OSHA says it bluntly: written, signed complaints submitted to the Central Office or the Area Office nearest your workplace are more likely to result in workplace inspections. Electronic ones tend to be worked by telephone and fax and may be resolved informally with the employer.

Can I complain if I do not work there?

Yes. PR OSHA says anyone with knowledge of a workplace safety or health hazard can file a complaint, and that it will investigate the reported concerns.

I was punished for complaining. What do I do?

File a discrimination complaint. It is against the law for an employer to fire, demote, transfer or discriminate against a worker for having filed a complaint or exercised another right under the law. You have 30 days from when you learned of the discriminatory actions.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

August 15, 2026

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