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7 years ago · by · 0 comments

What is OSHA and Why is it Important to Your Business?

Why is job safety and health important?

In 2013, 4,585 employees died from occupational incidents, and there were a staggering 3.0 million total recordable cases of workplace injury and illness.

On average, each of these 3.0 million cases required eight days away from work, which means U.S. employers as a whole paid for millions of days of lost work time. Experts estimate that workplace injuries and illnesses cost U.S. businesses more than $125 billion annually. Effective job safety and health programs not only help reduce worker injuries and illnesses, they save employers money in the long run.

How does OSHA contribute to job safety and health?

The primary goal of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is to carry out the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which Congress originally passed in 1970. The OSH Act has undergone several amendments and revisions since its inception, but it is still in place “to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.” OSHA contributes to job safety and health by enacting regulations that forward this ideal.

Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 1902-1990, houses all the OSHA standards, though OSHA also allows states to enact occupational safety and health laws of their own under federally-approved plans. State-run programs are at least as strict, and sometimes more so, than federal standards. This ensures a minimum standard of job safety and health that all employers must follow to protect employees.

Are all employees covered by the OSH Act?

The OSH Act covers all employees except public employees in state and local governments and those who are self-employed. Public employees in state and local governments are covered by their state’s OSHA-approved plan, if applicable.

Federal employees are covered under the OSH Act’s federal employee occupational safety and health programs, which are outlined in 29 CFR Part 1960. United States Postal Service employees, however, are subject to the same OSH Act coverage provisions as those in the private sector.

Other federal agencies that have issued requirements affecting job safety or health include the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and some agencies of the Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Employees in these industries are subject to their respective regulations.

Additionally, businesses in the retail, service, finance, insurance and real estate sectors that are classified as low-hazard are exempt from most OSHA requirements, as are small businesses with 10 or fewer employees. Exceptions are discussed in 29 CFR Part 1904, which also explains which OSHA regulations exempt employers are still required to follow.

What are your responsibilities as an employer?

If you are an employer covered by the OSH Act, you must provide your employees with jobs and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm. You must also comply with the OSHA statutory requirements, standards and regulations that require you to:

  • Provide well-maintained tools and equipment, including appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Provide medical assistance and guidance for employees sustaining workplace injuries/illnesses
  • Provide required OSHA training
  • Report accidents that result in fatalities to OSHA within eight hours
  • Report accidents that result in the hospitalization of three or more employees to OSHA within eight hours
  • Keep records of work-related accidents, injuries, illnesses and their causes
  • Post annual injury/illness summaries for the required period of time

What are your rights as an employer?

When working with OSHA, you may do the following:

  • Request identification from OSHA compliance officers
  • Request an inspection warrant
  • Receive a reason for inspection from compliance officers
  • Have an opening and closing conference with compliance officers
  • Accompany compliance officers on inspections
  • Request an informal conference after an inspection
  • File a notice of contest to citations or proposed penalties
  • Apply for a variance from a standard’s requirements under certain circumstances
  • Be assured of the confidentiality of trade secrets
  • Submit a written request to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for information on potentially toxic substances in your workplace

What are employees’ responsibilities?

All employees are obligated to help prevent exposure to workplace safety and health hazards by becoming familiar with and adhering to all applicable OSHA requirements.

What are employees’ rights?

With regards to OSHA regulations, employees have the right, among other actions, to:

  • Review employer-provided OSHA standards, regulations and requirements
  • Request information from the employer on emergency procedures
  • Receive adequate, OSHA-required safety and health training on toxic substances and emergency action plan(s)
  • Ask the OSHA area director to investigate hazardous conditions or violations of standards in the workplace
  • Have his or her name withheld from the employer when filing a complaint with OSHA
  • Know what actions OSHA took as a result of the employee’s complaint and have an informal review of any decision not to inspect or issue a citation
  • Have an employee representative accompany the OSHA compliance officer on inspections
  • Observe monitoring and measuring of toxic substances or harmful physical agents and review related records (including medical records)
  • Review the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA 300 Form), if applicable, at a reasonable time
  • Request a closing discussion following an inspection
  • Object a citation’s set abatement period
  • Seek safe and healthful working conditions without your employer retaliation

Why is OSHA important to your business?

OSHA plays a key role in making your facility a safe, healthy place to work. Beyond providing the tools and guidance to work toward an injury- and illness-free workplace, OSHA is important in identifying businesses that are not committed to safety. Employers that do not carefully follow OSHA regulations often face hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in fines.

How can you get more information on safety and health?

OSHA provides free publications, standards, technical assistance and compliance tools to help you understand the nuances of the regulations. OSHA’s website also offers extensive assistance by way of workplace consultation, voluntary protection programs, grants, strategic partnerships, state plans, training and education to guide you in your quest for workplace safety. To learn more about OSHA and the critical elements of a successful safety and health management system in your workplace, visit www.osha.gov.

This document is an introductory guideline. It does not address all potential compliance issues with OSHA standards. It is not meant to be exhaustive or construed as legal advice. Contact your licensed commercial property and casualty representative at Scurich Insurance or legal counsel to address applicable compliance requirements. © 2009-2012, 2015 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.

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7 years ago · by · 0 comments

Two Major OSHA Rules to Consider in Early 2017

OSHA frequently introduces or revises safety rules to remain up to date with new technologies and workplace procedures. In early 2017, two new major rules regarding injury and illness reporting will be in effect that all employers and establishments should be aware of.

OSHA’s electronic reporting rule will require some establishments to electronically submit data from their work-related injury records to OSHA. This rule becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2017. Under the new rule, establishments with 250 or more employees must electronically submit data from their OSHA 300, 300A and 301 forms. OSHA will then remove any personally identifiable information (PII) and post the establishment-specific data on its website.

In response to the electronic reporting rule, OSHA released an anti-retaliation rule that went into effect on Dec. 1, 2016. This rule includes two major requirements for employers:

  • Employers must inform their employees that they have a right to report work-related injuries and illnesses without any form of retaliation.
  • Employer must ensure that “reasonable” procedures are in place for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses.

Because these two new rules may dramatically change how establishments and employees report injuries and illnesses, it’s important for employers to understand their reporting responsibilities. For more information, contact us today and ask for our two compliance bulletins, “OSHA Issues Final Rule on Electronic Reporting” and “OSHA’s Anti-retaliation Rules to Take Effect Dec. 1, 2016.”

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9 years ago · by · 0 comments

FMLA Leave Request Does Not Create Automatic OSHA Recordkeeping Obligation

PatientsIn Secretary of Labor v. United States Postal Service the question was whether an employee’s indication of an industrial injury on a FMLA request form triggered an OSHA recordkeeping obligation.  To make a long story short, that claimant complained she was having an allergic reaction to dust produced by machinery she worked with. Her doctor provided her a note stating she was not to return to work at that machine. She eventually filled out an FMLA leave request form.

As this was going on, her complaint and that of another employee triggered an OSHA investigation. None of the inspections or analysis generated by her physician or OSHA found any kind of violation of OSHA standards or the exact allergic substance she was reacting to.  The OSHA inspector was none the less concerned the company had not recorded her allergic reaction in the OSHA injury logs, a violation for which they were cited.

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission overturned a decision by the lower court and ruled due to privacy provisions associated with the FMLA, the employer was required to not share this information with the OSHA coordinator or the employee’s supervisor. The only time it would be appropriate to do so is for job accommodation purposes or emergency medical treatment.

The Commission also ruled the obligation to report an OSHA injury could come from someone’s position or other unique circumstances. According to the Commission no such facts existed to generate the obligation. Which is rather surprising given it was abundantly clear she claimed to be having allergic reactions to working around the machinery and told numerous people about it.

The court reminded employers they should separate FMLA files from the work comp or injury ones.

Take home lesson: do NOT share medical information across the organization unless that person has a “need to know”, there is an accommodation to consider, or there is some kind of emergency. Keep FMLA requests private and don’t automatically share the info with the OSHA
compliance team.

Don Phin, Esq. is VP of Strategic Business Solutions at ThinkHR, which helps companies resolve urgent workforce issues, mitigate risk and ensure HR compliance. Phin has more than three decades of experience as an HR expert, published author and speaker, and spent 17 years in employment practices litigation. For more information, visit www.ThinkHR.com.

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9 years ago · by · 0 comments

OSHA 300 Log

Tractor AccidentThe January deadline in which companies must turn in their OSHA 300 Log is quickly approaching. In order to meet the recordkeeping regulations imposed on many companies in a wide cross-section of industries, employers are required to collect information about injuries and illnesses that occur as well as maintain and prepare records.

Effective January 1, 2015, all employers under the jurisdiction of the OSHA will be required to report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and all in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours of finding out about the incident.

What Needs to Be Recorded

OSHA regulations deem that the following must occur:

  • all fatalities that are work-related must be recorded
  • work-related injuries and illnesses that result in time away from work must be recorded
  • physician-diagnosed illnesses and injuries that are significant must be recorded, even if they do not result in time away from work
  • injuries such as an amputation, sprain, cut or fracture must be recorded. This list is not exhaustive.
  • illnesses – both acute and chronic – need to be recorded. These include respiratory disorders, poisonings and skin disease, and this list is not limited to only those illnesses listed.
  • work-related injuries – as defined by OSHA – are those in which exposure to workplace elements or an event either contributed or caused a condition or aggravated a condition or illness that was pre-existing.

Who Needs to Comply

Companies who are not in industries that are partially exempt from filing recordkeeping paperwork are required to do so. A few of these industries that are partially exempt include those that are deemed to be low hazard such as real estate, service, finance, retail and insurance. To determine if a business falls within a partially exempt industry, they are encouraged to look on the OSHA website for more information.

In addition, those companies that do not fall in one of the partially exempt industries must have at least ten employees. Each year, between February 1 and April 30, the business must display the results of the OSHA 300 Log within its workplace. All employees – both former and current – have the right to view these records and they must be provided with a copy of them by the following business day.

Source: http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2014/12/18/259283.htm

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Watsonville, CA 95077-1170

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