“Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA is authorized to conduct workplace inspections and investigations to determine whether employers are complying with standards issued by the agency for safe and healthful workplaces” (OSHA 2098, 2002). OSHA does not have to give notice of an inspection and inspections can occur at any time. The company needs to be prepared and take preventative actions in order to ensure the safety of the work environment as well as the safety of every employee within the facility. Even though Dynamic Duo, Inc. cannot control the inspection of OSHA, some legal actions can be taken in regards to how the inspection was handled. One aspect that cannot be considered in legal proceedings is that
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The employer can file an appeal on the citations up to 15 days after receiving the formal citations via certified mail. The employer must submit a written objection to OSHA in order to file for an informal conference. During this conference, the employer can discuss a plan of action with OSHA to resolve the issues that affect the safety of each employee. If the employer can come up with a solution to the citation before the informal conference, then the employer needs to bring documentation of the correction and OSHA will usually reduce the fine or eliminate the citation all together because the employer is making a timely and valid effort to correct the safety hazards. OSHA’s intent is to create the safest work environment for all employees and they want employers to make the recommended change; OSHA’s goal is not to see how much they can fine an employer to generate profit, the organization is trying to get employers to take safety seriously. The informal conference is a change to drastically reduce the seriousness and fines associated with the citations as long as the employer has a specific plan of action and has documentation of the necessary changes in regards to the …show more content…
Therefore, Dynamic Duo, Inc. can proceed with some legal action as long as they understand all the rules and procedures regarding the OSHA visit. If the management does not understand anything about OSHA visits or citations, the management needs to research and become very familiar with the rules before proceeding with legal action. While the company can proceed with legal action, the bottom line is that their safety culture is lacking and the working conditions for employee’s needs improvement. Dynamic Duo, Inc.’s main focus should be on becoming more safety conscious and becoming more familiar with OSHA standards and regulations to avoid OSHA citations, but more importantly providing a safe work environment for every employee with the
The employer can file an appeal on the citations up to 15 days after receiving the formal citations via certified mail. The employer must submit a written objection to OSHA in order to file for an informal conference. During this conference, the employer can discuss a plan of action with OSHA to resolve the issues that affect the safety of each employee. If the employer can come up with a solution to the citation before the informal conference, then the employer needs to bring documentation of the correction and OSHA will usually reduce the fine or eliminate the citation all together because the employer is making a timely and valid effort to correct the safety hazards. OSHA’s intent is to create the safest work environment for all employees and they want employers to make the recommended change; OSHA’s goal is not to see how much they can fine an employer to generate profit, the organization is trying to get employers to take safety seriously. The informal conference is a change to drastically reduce the seriousness and fines associated with the citations as long as the employer has a specific plan of action and has documentation of the necessary changes in regards to the …show more content…
Therefore, Dynamic Duo, Inc. can proceed with some legal action as long as they understand all the rules and procedures regarding the OSHA visit. If the management does not understand anything about OSHA visits or citations, the management needs to research and become very familiar with the rules before proceeding with legal action. While the company can proceed with legal action, the bottom line is that their safety culture is lacking and the working conditions for employee’s needs improvement. Dynamic Duo, Inc.’s main focus should be on becoming more safety conscious and becoming more familiar with OSHA standards and regulations to avoid OSHA citations, but more importantly providing a safe work environment for every employee with the