1978.114—District court jurisdiction of retaliation complaints under STAA.
(a)
If there is no final order of the Secretary, 210 days have passed since the filing of the complaint, and there is no showing that there has been delay due to the bad faith of the complainant, the complainant may bring an action at law or equity for de novo review in the appropriate district court of the United States, which will have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to the amount in controversy.
(b)
Fifteen days in advance of filing a complaint in federal court, a complainant must file with the Assistant Secretary, the ALJ, or the ARB, depending upon where the proceeding is pending, a notice of his or her intention to file such complaint. The notice must be served on all parties to the proceeding. A copy of the notice must be served on OSHA's Regional Administrator, the Assistant Secretary, and the Associate Solicitor for Occupational Safety and Health. The complainant must file and serve a copy of the district court complaint on the above as soon as possible after the district court complaint has been filed with the court.