An OSHA primer
By Kay Bell • Bankrate.com

With the signing into law of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, the federal government began taking a closer look at how American businesses operate.

Thirty-two years later, every company with workers is aware of OSHA and its companion offices. But sometimes that knowledge is just a passing one. No business wants to get too up-close-and-personal with OSHA, but a fuller understanding of the agency's guidelines and goals can help your company avoid unwanted encounters with inspectors.

Here, courtesy of OSHA's Web site, is a closer look at this federal office and its requirements of employers.

What is OSHA?
OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Established within the Labor Department, it sets and enforces workplace safety and health standards. There are two associated federal agencies:

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): Created in what was then the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, this office conducts research on occupational safety and health; and
• Ocupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC): This independent agency rules on enforcement actions challenged by employers.

How big is OSHA?
In fiscal year 2001, OSHA's budget of $426 billion helped pay for 2,370 employees, almost half of them being inspectors.

Twenty-six states and territories conduct health and safety workplace inspections on their own, accounting for another 2,948 state-hired employees, 1,275 of whom are inspectors. OSHA approves and monitors these state plans and provides up to 50 percent of their operating costs.

What are OSHA's inspection priorities?
Reports of imminent job dangers or accidents about to happen are the agency's top priority.

Second are fatalities or accidents serious enough to send three or more workers to a hospital. Employee complaints come in third on OSHA's watch list, with referrals from other government agencies fourth.

Targeted inspections, such as the Site Specific Targeting Program with its focus on employers who report high injury and illness rates, is fifth on the priority list. The agency also pays special attention to programs that involve hazardous work.

How many inspections does the agency conduct?
In 2000 (latest complete figures), OSHA and companion state agencies performed 36,350 workplace inspections.

On the federal level, the most-inspected industry was construction (54 percent). In these cases, reports of "high hazards" prompted examinations 51 percent of the time. Those trends also were reflected in the 54,510 state-level safety inspections.

What did violations cost companies?
Federal OSHA inspectors found 80,472 workplace violations in 2000 and assessed companies $86.5 million in penalties. More than 52,000 of the violations were classified as "serious," costing companies $50.36 million in penalties. States investigated another 54,510 businesses in 2000, fining them an additional $68.6 million.

What are the individual penalty amounts?
OSHA penalties range from zero to $70,000, depending upon how likely the violation is to result in serious harm to workers.

Violations classified as other-than-serious often carry no penalties, but could result in fines of up to $7,000. Serious violations can carry fines up to $7,000. Willful violations carry penalties of $5,000 to $70,000. And failure to correct a prior problem could produce civil penalties up to $7,000 a day for as long as the violation goes uncorrected.

Penalties may be reduced if an employer has a small number of employees, has demonstrated good faith, or has few or no previous violations.

What are your options if you disagree with an OSHA finding?
Employers have the right to contest OSHA citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Notices of contest must be filed within 15 working days after the citation is issued.

What are a company's record-keeping responsibilities?
About 1.3 million employers with 11 or more employees (that's 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 record-keeping requirements.

Is federal help available to fix workplace safety problems?
Free on-site assistance in identifying and correcting hazards or setting up safety and health programs is available from the OSHA consultation program. Or you can contact the OSHA area office nearest you to speak to the compliance assistance specialist about training and education in job safety and health issues.

OSHA also offers an interactive program that walks you through specific OSHA standards or helps you identify potential hazards in your workplace.

Is information on OSHA inspections available?
OSHA maintains an online inspection database that you can use to search for companies by name or by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code. You also can limit your search by state or by year.

Does OSHA offer any help, especially for small businesses?
In an effort to address the concerns of smaller companies, OSHA has a special Web page with links to consultation services, interactive computer software, technical information, and online guides for specific OSHA standards. It also has links to OSHA local offices and the Small Business Administration.

-- Posted: Jan. 25, 2002