BOS 3525 Unit III Assignment

Unit III Assignment

BOS 3525 Legal Aspects of Safety and Health

Columbia Southern University

Unit III Assignment

Citation and Notification

After an inspection the steps that are required to be taken are the Posting Requirements. When a Citation and Notification of Penalty are received it or a copy of it must be posted at or near the place that the violation was identified so employees are made aware of the hazards that they are being exposed to. The citation must remain posted in that location for either three working days or until the violation is corrected, whichever is longer. The employer must comply with the posting requirements even if they wish to contest the citation. Not complying to the requirements shall result in further penalties. Any abatement documents will also be posted at the same locations as the citation where the violations were identified. If the violation was an issue with moveable equipment and posting is too difficult or impractical the employer can identify the equipment with a warning tag.

There are a few options available to an employer that has been cited. If the conditions of the Citation and Notification of Penalty are agreed with then the employer must correct the violation by the date set in the citation and pay the penalty fee. If the employer does not agree they will have 15 working days from the date of receipt to contest in writing any or all of the following:

Before the decision to contest a citation, the employer should contact the local OSHA area office to discuss any concerns. This would be considered an informal conference with the OSHA area director. This must also be accomplished within that same 15 working day window.

• Citation;
• Proposed penalty; and/or
• Abatement date.

The items that the employer will want to discuss in this conference are as follows:

Once the employer decides the course of action that will be taken, they will have to either comply or contest. When they comply, they will send the Abatement Certification to the area director. For Other-Than-Serious violations, the Abatement Certification may be a signed letter identifying the inspection number and the citation item number and noting that the employer corrected the violation by the date specified on the citation. For more serious violations (such as Serious, Willful, Repeated, or Failure to Abate), abatement certification requires more detailed proof that the hazard has been corrected such as pictures, videos, a report by a third-party safety agent, receipts, records of training, or work orders.

• Obtain a better explanation of the violations cited;
• Obtain a more complete understanding of the specific standards that apply;
• Negotiate and enter into an informal settlement agreement;
  • Discuss ways to correct violations;
  • Discuss issues concerning proposed penalties;
  • Discuss proposed abatement dates;
  • Resolve disputed citations and penalties, (thereby eliminating the need for the more formal procedures associated with litigation before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission); and
  • Obtain answers to any other questions the employer may have.

If the employer decides to contest any portion of the citation, they must submit a Notice of Intent to Contest (NIC)in writing to the OSHA area office within the previously stated 15 working days. The NIC must clearly define what is being contested the citation, the penalty, the abatement date, or any combination of these factors. Additionally, the notice must state whether all the violations on the citation, or just specific violations, are being contested. If filed the OSHA area director will forward your case to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), which is an independent agency that is separate from the Department of Labor. The OSHRC will assign an administrative law judge to hear the case. The employer may choose to represent themselves or have an attorney represent them. The administrative law judge may affirm, modify, or eliminate any contested items of the citation or penalty.

References:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2016). Field operations manual. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-00-160.pdf

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Employer Rights and Responsibilities Following a Federal OSHA Inspection, OSHA 3000-09R (2014). Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3000.pdf.