Business

Everything Employers Need to Know About OSHA

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Many organizations are <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;business-owners-know-digital-marketing&sol;">helpful to business owners<&sol;a> before opening their doors&comma; but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration &lpar;OSHA&rpar; is at the top of the list&period; Under the Department of Labor&&num;8217&semi;s purview&comma; this federal organization is one of the largest regulatory agencies in the United States&period; It exists to ensure businesses offer a safe and healthy working environment for every employee&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">There are many safety-related federal and state laws governing business operations&comma; and OSHA conducts regular inspections to ensure businesses comply&period; As violations can be costly&comma; one of the best things you can do to ensure your success and your employee&&num;8217&semi;s safety is to know OSHA regulations before your first inspection&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Safety Regulations and Laws<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA governs <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;osha&period;gov&sol;laws-regs" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">federal law for business owners<&sol;a>&comma; and they have specialized laws regarding industries with specific risks or environmental hazards&period; For example&comma; there are unique regulations for construction companies because faulty standards could lead to risks for the general public&period; Similarly&comma; maritime and agricultural laws&comma; which also fall under the purview of OSHA&comma; have environmental implications by which companies must abide&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA also supervises general laws governing recordkeeping for businesses&comma; with specifications and exemptions for businesses based on size&period; Federal whistleblower laws&comma; which protect employees from employer retaliation if they inform OSHA of safety or other regulatory violations&comma; are also investigated and enforced by OSHA&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">While OSHA supervises many laws&comma; they have a simple checklist of <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;osha&period;gov&sol;as&sol;opa&sol;worker&sol;employer-responsibility&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">employer responsibilities<&sol;a> available&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA Enforcement and Penalties<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA has jurisdiction over seven million worksites nationwide and is staffed by a team of well-trained industrial and safety experts dispatched to investigate and enforce them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Because OSHA responds to major projects and reports of safety issues&comma; can they conduct inspections without warning and see things as they are without any preparation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">They set several inspection priorities&comma; starting with any site where there is an imminent and ongoing dangerous situation&period; They will also respond to reports of on-site injuries&comma; worker complaints&comma; and referrals from other agencies&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">When not referred to a specific site&comma; they&&num;8217&semi;ll conduct targeted inspections of sites at high-risk industries and follow-up inspections on previously cited sites&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA maintains broad authority to <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;osha&period;gov&sol;penalties&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">issue penalties for violations<&sol;a>&comma; and businesses are financially liable for any citations&period; The maximum fine for most violations is &dollar;13&comma;653&comma; although this is usually only levied for serious violations or businesses with a history of citations&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">However&comma; the cost can increase exponentially if a business owner doesn&&num;8217&semi;t rectify the issue quickly&period; Failure to abate can incur a fine of the maximum amount per day&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Willful or repeated violations fall under a different category&comma; and businesses can incur a fine of 10 times the maximum amount for a standard violation&period; OSHA may also coordinate with other agencies if environmental issues are involved or criminal charges are warranted beyond the civil penalties&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Injury Recordkeeping and Reporting<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">One of the most important ways OSHA determines who to inspect is through the business&&num;8217&semi; history of on-site injuries&period; That&&num;8217&semi;s why the OSHA recordkeeping division maintains an archive of injury reports filed by businesses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">When an employee files a workers&&num;8217&semi; compensation claim for an <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;thehartford&period;com&sol;workers-compensation&sol;injury-at-work" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">injury in the workplace<&sol;a>&comma; their employer may also have to notify OSHA&period; Depending on the severity of the injury&comma; the employer may have to file a report within 24 hours&period; Employers must also report all fatalities within eight hours&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Penalties for failing to file a record of an on-site injury can rise to the same rate as standard non-willful offenses&period; While the recordkeeping division is technically separate from enforcement and inspections&comma; a consistent pattern of reports from a business will likely result in a visit from an OSHA inspector&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA Resources<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">OSHA regulations can be complex&comma; and the department wants to help employers comply&period; They offer compliance checklists for employer requirements&comma; plans for setting the business up for emergencies&comma; and guides for safety procedure training&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">You can also find tools for e-filing reports&comma; paying penalties&comma; and viewing OSHA statistics from past years for transparency&period; There are also resources for mental health help for employees and small businesses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">An Ally to Businesses<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">While OSHA regulations can catch businesses off guard&comma; the organization works hard to educate employers&comma; ensuring safe working conditions for employees&period; Their website provides everything a small business owner needs to ensure they comply and protect themselves from penalties and liability&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel is a Digital Marketing Consultant and professional Blogger. He has 16+ years experience in SEO, SMO, SEM, Online reputation management, Affiliated Marketing and Content Marketing.

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