Stand Up To OSHA – 04/11/2022

Safety E-QuickTips

U.S. Compliance Systems, Inc.

Monday Apr 11, 2022

Stand Up To OSHA

Last week we talked about rising OSHA penalties and some things you can do to reduce the costs after receiving citations. This week we’re going to review something you can do to help prevent OSHA citations if you are visited by OSHA.

Over the years I’ve talked to hundreds of employers, and one of the most common things I hear is, “I know if OSHA shows up at my worksite they are always going to find a something to cite me for. So, I just have to keep my mouth shut and accept that this is a cost of doing business.”

I can tell you from experience that this is not a true statement. I know employers who have stood up to OSHA compliance officers and have prevented citations from being issued, or even had them deleted after they were issued.

Now, when I say stood up to OSHA compliance officers, I mean they made it clear their employees were working in a safe manner and in accordance with OSHA regulations, but they also treated the officer with respect.

Here are 6 things you can do to prevent paying costly OSHA citations before they are issued.

Establish Safety Policies and Procedures
Provide Employees Safety Training
Perform Regular & Frequent Safety Inspections
Correct and hold employees accountable for safety violations
Document OSHA inspections
Stand up to OSHA if you know the facts support what you’re doing and provide OSHA follow-up information

I’ve covered items 1-4 several times over the past 12 years of Safety E-QuickTips, so rather than making this longer than it needs to be, just click on the links above for more information about each of the ways to prevent costly OSHA citations.

Today I’ll discuss 5 and 6.

Written or recorded documentation of an OSHA visit is key in protecting the company from OSHA citations.Pictures add an additional layer of protection because a picture is worth a thousand words.

To be effective, documentation needs to take place during the inspection, not when it is over.By doing it during the inspection you are sure to capture relevant information that will help in your defense should you receive citations.

Another reason documentation is necessary is that, as I mentioned last week, OSHA has up to 6 months to issue a citation after an inspection and a lot can be forgotten in that time.

I have a client who performs steel erection and has been visited several times over the past 20 years. Although they have received OSHA citations that they have paid, several visits resulted in no citations issued. One time they had all the citations vacated. Here’s how that happened.

During one of the visits, OSHA told the superintendent that they were performing work in violation of the Fall Protection standard. The Superintendent advised the Compliance Officer that they were not and told him what they were doing and why they weren’t in violation. This Super had been visited several times before and understood that not backing down when his employees were performing their work in accordance with OSHA standards was how he could protect their company.

OSHA issued a couple of citations about 3 months later and because the Superintendent had written documentation, pictures and a description of the work being performed in accordance with OSHA regulations, the citations were vacated.

Standing up for your company when you are doing your job safely and in accordance with OSHA regulations protects your employees, company reputation and profits.

Employee QuickTip

Performing your job in a safe manner and in accordance with OSHA regulations is the best thing you can do for you and your company. You go home uninjured at the end of the day, and you protect your company from costly citations. It’s a win/win.

Employer/Management QuickTip

If a Compliance Officer tells you, “I’m going to take this back to my boss and they’ll decide if citations are going to be issued,” there is about a 95% chance your company will be receiving citations. Why is that? The Compliance Officer has found what they believe to be violations. Rather than get into any confrontations, it’s easier to say their boss (the Area Director or Assistant Area Director) has to approve all citations, even if it is just putting their signature on them.

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Thanks for Reading and Please – Stay Healthy and Work Safe.