5-Minute Guide: Top 10 Employer Rights During an OSHA Inspection
5-Minute Guide to OSHA Compliance: The Top-10 Employer Rights with an OSHA Inspection
Intended Audience: Business Owners, Managers, Department Heads & Safety Professionals.
Why This is Important:
In Fiscal Year 2024, OSHA conducted 34,221 inspections, issued more than 100,000-citations and assessed around $132-million in penalties.
While the percentage U.S. workplace that will get an OSHA inspection annually is small, those odds increase substantially with:
A fatality or serious workplace injury such as an amputation.
An employee safety or health related complaint to OSHA.
A higher than average OSHA recordable incident rate or DART rate.
A referral from another government agency like the EPA.
Unlike people who are accused of criminal activities, employers are expected to know their rights under OSHA law.
OSHA does not issue Miranda Warning in any form to business management personnel as they are not a criminal law enforcement agency.
The Top-10 Employer Rights with an OSHA Inspection:
The Right to Refuse an OSHA Inspection; While the Fourth Amendment does protect businesses from warrantless searches, if refused workplace entry by the employer, OSHA will simply returned with a inspection warrant signed by a judge.
The Right to Ask for an OSHA Inspector Credentials; Upon arrival at a workplace, the OSHA inspector must be prepared to provide the employer with a photo ID and employee serial number.
The Right to Ask the Purpose of the Inspection; The employer can ask the OSHA representative such things as the reason for the inspection, the physical areas to be visited and the specific hazards the inspector is looking for such as amputation or chemical hazards.
The Right to Ask OSHA to Limit an Inspection; Employers have the right to ask an OSHA to limit an inspection if it could have a negative impact on business operations such as asking that production equipment be shutdown without a legitimate safety reason.
The Right to Ask OSHA How they Plan to Conduct The Inspection; The employer has the right to ask the OSHA inspector such questions as how long they think the inspection will last, the method of the inspection (such as a walk-around), and which areas are to be visited first.
The Right to Accompany the Inspector; To see that the inspection is conducted fairly and properly, an employer has the right to accompany an inspector at all times when they are on the property.
The Right to Sit In on the OSHA Interview of Employees; This is a somewhat limited management right as an employee can ask that the interview be conducted in private.
The Right to Limit Access to Certain Areas; Employers can limit OSHA inspector to certain areas not directly related to business operations such as employee break rooms, change rooms, restrooms and even offices and conference rooms.
The Right to an Inspection Closing Conference; OSHA inspectors are required by law to conduct a closing conference to discuss their findings to include all the standards that they believe may have been violated.
The Right to Contest OSHA Citations; The employer has a right to contest the validity of the citation, its degree of seriousness, the penalty amount, or all three.
If an employer does not initially object to an action that OSHA takes against them, they maybe waiving their right to object at a later date, particularly if the employer allows OSHA to exceed the scope of their inspection authority.
Employer Red Flags with An OSHA Inspection:
An inspector who shows up initially with a court order.
An inspector who shows up accompanied by non-osha personnel, such as contract safety and health consultants.
The inspector says the purpose of the inspection is an employee complaint to OSHA.
The inspector asks to interview specific employees by name.
The inspector says they are there because of an imminent danger situation.
An inspector request for non-OSHA required documents like insurance loss runs or employee disciplinary records.
An inspector wants to take certain company documents back to their office.
The inspector spends a lengthy period of time examining one specific area or questioning one individual extensively.
At anytime during the visit, the inspector indicated they observed a Willful or Repeat violation.
The Most Important Takeaway:
All organizational personnel expected to be involved in an OSHA inspection should understand their full rights with that inspection process.
For Additional Information or questions on this Subject, Contact Centurion’s Loss Control Manager, Rob Brooks, at:
(606)434-0739
Disclaimer:
This publication is intended for general educational purposes only, and is not to be considered as business, financial or legal advice.
Readers should consult with appropriate professionals before making any decisions based on the content of this newsletter.
Some of the data &/or statistics referenced within were obtained using artificial intelligence.
Centurion Insurance Services and the writer make no guarantees or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the reliability, completeness or suitability of the information contained herein.
We will not be liable for any losses or damages arising from the use of the information provided.
