As an organization, OSHA works hard to keep employees and workplace environments safe. Unfortunately, even the best intentions and most exhaustive efforts can leave your business vulnerable to an OSHA violation.
What should you do if you notice an OSHA violation in your place of business? And how can you recover from it?
What Is an OSHA Violation?
An OSHA violation happens whenever a business or one of its employees fails to comply with rules and regulations set by OSHA for workplace safety. For example, if employees are made to work in unfairly dangerous conditions without proper protective gear, their employer would likely be responsible for an OSHA violation.
OSHA violations come in many different varieties and are associated with many different levels of penalties, depending on the severity and egregiousness of the violation. For example, de minimis violations are typically very mild, occurring only due to technical requirements and causing no direct injury or death.
However, very serious OSHA violations that are done willfully and repeatedly are treated much more harshly, and understandably so.
Preventing OSHA Violations
While some technical OSHA violations can happen due to misunderstandings or sheer ignorance, the vast majority of OSHA violations are easy to prevent:
- Training and certification. Thanks to convenient online training programs, it’s easier than ever to make sure your staff members are trained and certified in whatever work they’re performing. For example, your forklift operators should be forklift certified so they understand the safe operation of this deceptively dangerous piece of equipment.
- Safety culture. It’s also important to establish a safety culture within your organization. That means creating and supporting organizational culture standards that make safety one of, if not the top priority in all your work. Safety culture is not something you can build overnight, but once established, it helps everyone stay in the right mindset and avoid dangerous offenses.
- Proactive hazard reduction. Eliminating and reducing hazards instantly makes your life easier. Trying to remain OSHA compliant in a hazardous situation is much more stressful and difficult than simply avoiding the hazardous situation in the first place. Obviously, not all hazards can be easily eliminated or reduced, but this should be your first line of defense in the workplace.
- Adequate supervision. Even when properly trained and certified, some of your employees will be tempted to skip certain safety standards, either unwittingly or deliberately. In either scenario, a responsible, trained supervisor can step in to prevent potential catastrophes. Make sure you have adequate supervision across your business.
- Checks and balances. It’s also important to have checks and balances in place. If only one person is responsible for everything related to safety, there will be holes in your organizational safety standards. Make sure everyone on your team has overlapping safety responsibilities and a shared commitment to the same safe outcome.
- Periodic reviews. It’s also important to conduct periodic audits to make sure all your safety standards are being followed to the letter. Without check-ins, it’s easy to drift away from the initial vision.
Handling an OSHA Violation (Employees)
As an employee, if you notice an OSHA violation, you should do the following:
- Gather evidence. Gather and keep whatever evidence you can that the violation occurred. That could mean taking photos, taking witness statements, or simply taking notes on what happened.
- Consider talking to your supervisor. Some OSHA violations are egregious, with a strong likelihood of causing injury or death, and are associated with minimum penalties for each violation. “Other than serious” violations are markedly less severe, with no minimum penalty, and “de minimus” violations are technical violations that are unlikely to cause injury, death, or illness. Depending on how you feel about the violation and this environment, it may be appropriate to bring the issue to the attention of your supervisor before submitting an official complaint.
- Submit a complaint. If you decide to move forward with your complaint, you can submit it semi-anonymously to OSHA directly. OSHA will then decide how and when to move forward with the investigation.
Handling an OSHA Violation (Employers)
As an employer, if you’re the target of an OSHA violation investigation:
- Consider your options. Depending on the nature of the violation, you may be able to appeal, participate in the investigation, or take other actions. Read your instructions carefully and consider all your options.
- Make changes. This violation likely occurred because of ignorance, negligence, or other gaps in your organization. Consider reviewing your organization and making positive changes to prevent these incidents in the future.
- Talk to a lawyer. Make sure to talk to a lawyer if you want a more favorable legal outcome. Your lawyer can help you understand your potential penalties, the context of this violation, and your options moving forward.
- Get your paperwork in order. Gather as much paperwork as possible to protect your organization and comply with OSHA requests. The more thoroughly you can document this incident and demonstrate your organization’s commitment to safety, the better.
Nobody wants to deal with an OSHA violation. Fortunately, most violations are easy for organizations and employees to avoid. However, if you notice a legal or regulatory violation in your workplace, it’s your responsibility to report it and take action. The process is fairly straightforward – and could help you create a permanently safer workplace.
