Court strikes down OSHA rule making employers log mental illness

One process technician, identified in court only as Employee 2, twice went into the burning unit to help firefighters shut off valves feeding the blaze. He had worked at the plant since 2008. 

Afterward, he sought help for anxiety through Exxon’s employee assistance program. A licensed clinical social worker diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder linked to the fire. A second social worker and his primary physician reached the same conclusion. 

Exxon decided those three providers lacked the “appropriate training and experience” the rule required to diagnose a recordable work-related mental illness. The worker then saw another provider listed in Exxon’s assistance program, who also diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and advised six months away from work. 

Exxon agreed that provider was qualified but sought a second opinion, which OSHA guidance permits. Its designated evaluator reviewed the file and concluded the worker did not have work-related PTSD. Exxon then declined to record the diagnosis. 

The union reported that decision to OSHA. In June 2022, the agency cited Exxon for an “other-than-serious” recordkeeping violation. An administrative law judge upheld the citation and assessed a $691 penalty. When the review commission declined to hear Exxon’s appeal, the ruling became final, and Exxon petitioned the Fifth Circuit.