Prior to the Trump administration, OSHA commonly engaged in the practice of “public shaming.” In other words, if an OSHA investigation found a relatively serious safety violation, it would issue a press release identifying the business, exposing their failings, and detailing the hazards discovered in the inspection. Often, these press releases would be picked up by other media sources and more widely circulated. The objective was that such media attention would serve an educational and deterrent purpose to other entities in the same industry and/or geographic area. During this time, OSHA also had a general policy of providing information about alleged violations upon request from media sources quickly. Critics of the policy argued that OSHA should not publicize enforcement cases until the citations have been fully resolved as a matter of due process.
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