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Importance of OSHA
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You may or may not be familiar with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, otherwise known as OHSA or simply another governmental agency you don’t want to mess with (akin to the IRS and the INS).
OSHA's mission is not just an increased amount of paperwork for you to deal with though it can certainly seem that way, but rather to assist in preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. Since the agency was created in 1971, occupational deaths and injuries have been cut significantly. The positive of OSHA is that they have done some good work in keeping people safe. The negative is trying to stay compliant to their regulations. This isn’t really a negative but can be extremely challenging to any business owner. To keep people safe OSHA released an updated field operations manual (FOM) for their agents on March 26, 2009 which is a mere 300+ pages long and it available to download so you can read it in your spare time. This would be a main reason why for many businesses who should be OSHA complaint, aren’t. It is too overwhelming for them so it gets ignored.
One main focus in this updated manual is on OSHA recordkeeping. The FOM states that at the start of each inspection, an OSHA compliance officer shall review an employer’s injury and illness logs for the three prior calendar years, wouldn’t you hate to have that job? Most employers don’t keep records for 3 weeks much less 3 years. Compliance officers are instructed to do this for all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture inspections and investigations. OSHA penalties range from $0 to $70,000, depending upon how likely the violation is to result in serious harm to employees. So I wouldn’t recommend taking a chance with non-compliance not to mention how horrible would you feel if someone was seriously hurt on your clock? Based on the volume of business OSHA has to cover they do prioritize.
OSHA top priorities are reports of imminent dangers-accidents about to happen; second are fatalities or accidents serious enough to send three or more employees to the hospital. Third are employee complaints. Another reason not to take employee satisfaction for granted. Referrals from other government agencies are fourth. Fifth are targeted inspections-such as the Site Specific Targeting Program, which focuses on employers that report high injury and illness rates, and special emphasis programs that zero in on hazardous work such as trenching or equipment such as mechanical power presses. Follow-up inspections are the final priority. More businesses than you might think need to be observant of OSHA regulations
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Employers have the right to contest OSHA citations and/or penalties and must file notices of contest within 15 working days of being issued citations. Although it is much easier to do it right from the start. Than to run the risk of being temporarily shut down while you investigate.
OSHA Recordkeeping
About 1.5 million employers with 11 or more employees-20 percent of the establishments OSHA covers-must keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses. Workplaces in low-hazard industries such as retail, service, finance, insurance, and real estate are exempt from recordkeeping requirements, but still need to follow safety procedures to create and maintain a safe work environment.
Employers must post the federal or a state OSHA poster to provide their employees with information on their safety and health rights. You may order a printed copy from the OSHA Publications Office at (800) 321-OSHA.
