When it comes to “Myths”, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 has its share. So many false and inadequate interpretations of the law exist. Let’s examine a few.
Myth: OSHA can shut you down, lock your doors and not allow your place of business to continue.
FALSE. OSHA’s powers lay within the issuance of citations and assessment of penalties. Even then the right of formal challenge often referred to as “Right to Contest” ( Citation and Notification of Penalty) can reverse or reduce issued citations and assessed penalties. Although the penalty amount may put a burden on the business, the actual shut down will be a decision made by the owner or corporation, not OSHA.
Myth: OSHA has “undercover compliance officers” posing as employees and looking for OSHA violations.
FALSE. The OSHA inspectors known as Compliance Officers or commonly referred to as CSHO (Compliance Safety and Health Officer) can inspect any place of business but only, as noted in the Act, perform their duties at a “reasonable time”. No undercover work, no third shift or 2:00 am visits but at a reasonable time.
Myth: OSHA Compliance Officers carry weapons and have arrest powers.
FALSE. The OSHA inspector cannot and do not carry weapons. They also do not have arrest powers. There may be civil criminal charges against an employer but this is very uncommon and requires court ordered hearings and trial provisions.
Myth: All OSHA visits will result in the issuance of a citation and penalties assessed.
FALSE: Not allOSHA visits result in citations or penalty. Many OSHA visits after the completion of the opening conference will end at that point. This is why it is so important for employers to have all their required written safety and health policy and procedures ready for review. Even in the event the inspection continues into the workplace, only if hazards are found will a citation be issued.
Myth: OSHA protects everyone, visitors, customers, anybody entering a place of business.
FALSE: The OSH Act is applicable only when the employee – employer relationship is determined. In other words, the only time the ACT can be applied is to the employer and its employees. Customers, visitors or anyone else who is not employed by the place of business, are not governed under the OSHA rules and regulations. Only the employee is given protection powers under OSHA. Another interesting point is that the majority of government workers, state and municipalities are not protected under the OSH Act.
Myth: OSHA penalties are too high. OSHA can penalize you $10,000.00 simply for an ungrounded electrical cord.
FALSE: Although its penalties can be extremely high in rare egregious circumstances, OSHA remains one of the lowest penalty rated regulatory agencies when its penalty rated citations and powers of inspection are compared to other agencies such as;
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
OSHA has a penalty rated system which applies to the status of the hazard found. Serious hazards along with willful violations being the highest. A simple ungrounded electrical cord would usually not fall into either of these status rating violations, unless other circumstances applied. It is the cost of the accident which may occur and potential civil suits resulting from unsafe activities and conditions that is costly.
Myth: OSHA is a state program and is different within each state.
FALSE: OSHA is a Federal Program administered by the U.S. Government, Department of Labor. There are provisions within the ACT itself which allows states to choose to administer their own OSHA program but only with federal approval. A list of the state -un OSHA programs can be found on the OSHA web site.
I hope this article adequately responded and answered the myths you have heard or believed about OSHA. For more information on the OSH Act visit the OSHA web page at: www.osha.gov . It is very important that you as an employer understand the OSHA Act and it's powers and means of enforcement.
Have a safe day.
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