OSHA Update: Sherman & Howard Issues New "An Employer's Guide OSHA Inspections"

By Rod Smith, Pat Miller and Matt Morrison

To help employers prepare for an OSHA inspection, Sherman & Howard's Occupational Safety and Health Law Group has developed a new "Employer's Guide to OSHA Inspections."  The Guide is available here.

Maintaining a good OSHA record is more important than ever.  OSHA citations can be expensive - as much as $70,000 for a single repeat or willful violation - and are going up under OSHA's increased emphasis on enforcement.  In addition, customers, insurance companies and others are increasingly scrutinizing a company's OSHA record as a condition of doing business.  Proper handling of an OSHA inspection can help minimize this liability.

The new Guide is designed to help employers understand and exercise their legal rights before, during and after an OSHA inspection.  Sample inspection notes at the end of the Guide will help employers document critical information obtained during the inspection.

Readers are welcome to copy, distribute and use the Guide for educational purposes however they wish.  Members of our Group are also available to train or speak on OSHA's inspection process.

For more information about the Guide or training opportunities, contact any member of Sherman & Howard's Occupational Safety and Health Law Group.

Rodney Smith, Pat Miller, Chuck Newcom and Matt Morrison are part of Sherman and Howard's Labor & Employment Law Department, practicing in the areas of occupational safety and health law. They routinely appear before the federal Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, and state occupational safety and health boards.

For more information please contact one of the members of the OSHA Practice Group.

Sherman & Howard has prepared this advisory to provide general information on recent legal developments that may be of interest. This advisory does not provide legal advice for any specific situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and the Firm.

©2011 Sherman & Howard L.L.C.                                                 October 17, 2011