How Can My Business Avoid the Most Common OSHA Violations in the Workplace?
OSHA violations exist, not as a way to complicate your life, but as a reminder of the tragic events that took place in order to prevent repetition. Discover how to not only save face from OSHA but also protect your employees by being mindful of these 10 common OSHA safety violations.
In the past, workers had absolutely no protection. In the absence of regulations, employers allowed their workers to use the dangerous equipment — some owners even exposed their employees to toxic chemical or other harsh work conditions which caused many injuries on workers and many deaths including children.
Perhaps the most appropriate example is exposure rates to new chemicals, accidents after WWII rose like industrial production. As a result, disabling injuries soared by 20% in the year from 1960 to 14,000 worker deaths per year.
Fortunately, the federal law now mandates, that every employer as a duty to provide a safe workplace.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created by Congress in 1970 in response to public fears over increasing numbers of deaths and injuries on the job. OSHA is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Labor, which enforces laws to protect workplace safety and health. Federal OSHA implements standards, enforces regulations and educates employees on what their rights are.
One of the most vital of these standards is the “General Duty Clause” which states, “Each employer shall furnish to each of [its] employees’ employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to [its] employees”. This now proposes of the notion of duty of care, which would affect any business as exemplified in our article listing seven examples and their duty of care.
After all, the safety should come first for every company. Acknowledging your responsibility as an employer towards every hazard at your workplaces, equipment and machinery will be a great aid in preventing any severe accidents or fatalities that might occur on your site.
What Are OSHA Violations?
All too often, an OSHA violation happens when a workplace is unsafe to work in and a business or its employees fail to follow the wealth of regulations which are written with the intent of protecting the worker for serious hazards. OSHA violations can be technical infractions that don’t present an immediate threat to a worker, or they can be significant health and safety hazards like unsafe wiring.
OSHA violations can be divided into six categories as follows:
- De minimis violations
- Other-than-serious violations
- Failure to abate violations
- Serious violations
- Willful violations
- Repeated violations
One of the major ways OSHA enforces its regulations and standards is through inspections. OSHA Inspections are Conducted in the Following Order of Priority:
#1 Imminent danger:
Hazards that may kill or cause serious physical harm
#2 Severe injuries and illnesses:
Notifying of death or injury at work — Employers must report all fatalities and serious injuries, including occupational diseases, to OSHA within a specific time frame and face inspection.
#3 Worker complaints:
Workers can ask OSHA to inspect their workplace — without OSHA telling the employer who asked for an inspection — when they believe there are serious hazards or that their employer is not following OSHA standards.
#4 Referrals:
By other government agencies, individuals, organizations or the media;
#5 Targeted inspections:
Targeted to high-hazard industries or individual employers with high DART rates
#6 Follow-up inspections:
So prior transgressions are confirmed as resolved
An inspector can cite OSHA fines and violations for safety hazards at your worksite. The citations will describe the OSHA safety requirements allegedly violated, set forth the proposed OSHA penalties and give a deadline for correcting the reported hazards.
OSHA breaks down the penalties which vary by severity of each violation for violating its own safety standards. For repeat and serious violations, the penalty may not exceed $16,131 for each violation except the fine for willful or repeated violation may be up to $161,323 for each.
Don’t Be Complacent About Office Safety
Sure, some business owners may also be thinking of safety as that far focus because what happens to them is contained within two steps, a lot of carpet and no equipment more sophisticated than a drip coffee maker. OSHA only covers factories and industrial sites riddled with many tons of heavy machinery and equipment where manual labor is the primary focus, correct?
Not so fast! OSHA has jurisdiction over both private sector and state agencies, including federal employees in some cases. OSHA is a federal agency operating in all 50 states and certain territories under the direction of Congress.
Plus office workers can face fall risks, chemical exposure, and other dangers even in the most climate-controlled, cushy environment. It means that employee safety should always be the priority wherever your office may be.
OSHA safety topics
Managing all of the OSHA regulations impacted by your business can be a daunting task. The practice of periodic “refresher” sessions that enable delivery keeps critical knowledge fresh.
In those meetings, specific safety topics are covered in detail and are usually held for a variety of employee groups that need the information based on their responsibilities or work environments (e.g. some may be quick, convenient messages for small group sessions others can incorporate multi-media instruction).