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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) usually
conducts around 32,000 inspections a year. For companies who are
involved in an inspection and receive fines/citations, most are
surprised by the hazards discovered and unsure of next steps to take.
While avenues exist to contest findings, lower penalties, and delete
citations, there are very specific steps to take and deadlines to hit in
order for these options to remain available.
Are you prepared to respond to an OSHA citation?
Responding to an OSHA citation appropriately requires knowledge,
manpower, and decisiveness. Follow the 4-step process below to ensure
you remain compliant, protect your business, and minimize costs and
fines.
STEP 1 | Correct the Hazard
Create an action plan and take steps to correct hazards as quickly
and thoroughly as possible. Be sure to document every step you take
(including emails, training records, relevant purchases, policy updates,
etc.) so they may be presented later on as evidence of safety efforts.
Appropriately correcting hazards within 24 hours may help your company
to qualify for OSHA’s “quick fix” 15% reduction of penalties during the
informal conference process.
If your company does not have a safety manager, consider reaching
out to a safety expert who can guide you on how to quickly correct
hazards as per the OSHA standard. These experts will have templates,
training material, vendor recommendations, and techniques that will
ultimately save you time and money.
STEP 2 | Post the Citation
Post the citation (or a copy of it) near the place where the
violation occurred as directed by OSHA. The goal of this step is to
ensure employees are aware of the hazard they may be exposed to. The
violation must stay posted for three working days OR until the violation
is abated, which ever is longer. Even if you choose to contest the
violation, you must post it. Failure to post the citation can result in
fines up to $13,653 per violation.
STEP 3 | Request an Informal Conference
As quickly as possible (and at least within 15 working days of
receiving a citation), request an informal conference to review the
hazards discovered. While this step isn’t mandatory, it is highly
recommended. Benefits of an informal conference may include penalty
reduction, extension of abatement dates, deletion of citations, and
more. Willful violations (which have penalties as high as $136,532) are
10x more expensive than Serious violations; getting a citation
reclassified can save your company considerably.
Additional ways to fight for penalty reductions include citing a
good safety record, requesting an adjustment based upon the size of your
company, proving a “good-faith” effort towards safe work practices, and
more. Consider requesting help from a lawyer or safety expert during
this negotiation process if you are unsure of how to present your best
case.
STEP 4 | Decide: Agree or Contest?
If you agree to the citation, pay the proposed penalty and correct
the condition by the date mandated in your citation. You must submit an
Abatement Certification letter to the OSHA officer to document this
hazard correction. If it is later discovered that you did not abate the
hazard appropriately, you may receive an additional failure-to-abate
violation (which comes with fines up to $13,653 per day).
If you disagree with the citation, you must contest it in writing
to OSHA within 15 working days from the day you receive the citation
(this letter is called a “Notice of Intent to Contest”). If you do not
contest within this window, your citation will become a final order not
subject to review by any court or agency. Once properly filed, the
Notice of Intent to Contest suspends your legal obligation to pay
penalties and make abatement efforts until the item contested has been
resolved.
When faced with an OSHA citation, it is important that employers
understand their rights and responsibilities. It is vital to act
quickly, take steps to correct the hazard immediately, move forward
decisively, and process paperwork in a timely manner during the 15-day
working window after a citation is received. Missteps during this
timeframe often result in higher fines and additional citations.