29 CFR § 1977.17 - Withdrawal of complaint.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t29/s1977.17"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "29 CFR § 1977.17 - Withdrawal of complaint."
title_number: 29
title_name: "Labor"
section_number: "1977.17"
section_name: "Withdrawal of complaint."
chapter_name: "OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR"
part_number: "1977"
part_name: "DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES EXERCISING RIGHTS UNDER THE WILLIAMS-STEIGER OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "29 U.S.C. 657, 660; 5 U.S.C. 553; and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 08-2020 (85 FR 58393), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), or 12-71 (36 FR 8754), as applicable."
regulatory_source: "38 FR 2681, Jan. 29, 1973, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "1977"
---


# 1977.17 Withdrawal of complaint.

Enforcement of the provisions of section 11(c) is not only a matter of protecting rights of individual employees, but also of public interest. Attempts by an employee to withdraw a previously filed complaint will not necessarily result in termination of the Secretary's investigation. The Secretary's jurisdiction cannot be foreclosed as a matter of law by unilateral action of the employee. However, a voluntary and uncoerced request from a complainant to withdraw his complaint will be given careful consideration and substantial weight as a matter of policy and sound enforcement procedure.