“The following information has been provided by Karson L. Carpenter, President, HPTC. Karson has begun providing training on OSHA compliance basics to Covetrus sales team members who will be able to assist you with your training needs in the future. Working with Karson and his team in development of veterinary clinic specific materials has been a pleasure for me and I feel that HPTC is a wealth of information for everyone in the animal health industry. I am looking forward to a long and productive partnership with HPTC.” says Kay Knox, Regulatory Manager, Covetrus.

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OSHA is authorized under the law to inspect your facility to determine whether employers are complying with current regulations. OSHA enforces what is called the General Duty Clause which requires that every working person must be provided with a safe and healthful workplace. Will you be ready?

Inspections may be conducted with or without advanced notice and are often conducted based upon a current or former employee’s complaint. OSHA has adopted a “worst first” system of priorities for conducting inspections that works as follows:

1. Imminent Danger. These situations are given top priority. Imminent danger means that a condition is thought to exist that can be expected to cause death or serious physical harm. If an imminent danger situation exists, the Compliance Officer will ask the employer to voluntarily abate the hazard and remove endangered employees.

2. Catastrophes and Fatal Accidents. OSHA’s second priority is investigating accidents that involve fatalities and/or hospitalization of five or more employees. These catastrophes must be reported to OSHA within 48 hours of the incident.

3. Employee Complaints. The third priority of OSHA is the inspection of formal employee complaints of alleged violation of the OSHA Standards. The OSH Act gives each employee the right to request an OSHA inspection when the employee believes they are in imminent danger from a hazard. OSHA will maintain confidentiality when an employee requests such an inspection and will inform the employee of any action regarding their complaint.

4. Programmed Inspections. These inspections are usually aimed at high hazard industries and occupations. For this reason veterinary facilities are less likely to be the target of such an inspection, although special emphasis programs or random selection may also prompt an inspection.

Inspector Credentials and Opening Conference
The actual inspection first involves the inspector presenting his/her credentials which can be verified by calling the nearest OSHA office. Remember that a Compliance Officer may never collect any violation penalty or promote the sale of any product or service. After credential presentation, the Compliance Officer will request an opening conference to explain the purpose of the visit, the scope of the inspection and the standards that apply. The employer will be given a copy of the safety and health standards that apply as well as a copy of the employee complaint, if applicable. An employer representative must accompany the Compliance Officer during the inspection. An employee representative may also accompany the Compliance Officer and may be chosen by either the Compliance Officer or the employees themselves, but may not be chosen by the employer.

The Inspection
The Compliance Officer will determine the route and duration of the inspection and will make every effort to minimize office interruptions. During the inspection the inspector may:

• Hold private conversations with employees
• Examine records
• Take photographs
• Review existing engineering controls
• Monitor employee exposure to chemicals

Closing Conference
After the inspection has concluded, a closing conference will be held and shall include the Compliance Officer, the employer and the employee representative. The Compliance Officer will discuss all alleged violations observed but no penalties will be given at this time. The employer will be given a copy of “Employer Rights and Responsibilities”; will discuss the contents of the booklet and answer any questions.

Citations and Penalties
A written citation and notice of proposed penalties shall be sent to the employer by certified mail. A proposed time period will be set for abatement of any violations found. The employer must post a copy of each citation in a place visible to all employees, for at least three days or until the violation is corrected.

The following violations may be cited:

• Other Than Serious Violation. This violation relates to job safety and health but is a violation unlikely to cause death or physical harm. A penalty of no more than $7000 for each violation may be levied.
• Serious Violation. This type of violation means that there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result. A mandatory penalty of up to $7000 per violation may be levied.    
• Willful Violation. This violation occurs when the employer is aware that a hazardous condition exists, knows the condition exists and violates a standard of the Osh Act and makes no reasonable effort to correct the hazard. Penalties of up to $70,000 may be levied for each violation
• Repeat Violation. These may incur fines of up to $70,000 each.
• Failure to Correct a Violation. This may carry a civil penalty of $7000 for each day the violation continues beyond the abatement period.

Appeals Process
The employer may request an informal conference to discuss issues raised by the inspection citation and/or proposed penalty. The OSHA Area Director may revise citations and penalties to help avoid prolonged disputes. If the inspection was initiated by an employee complaint, the employee may request to review any decision to not issue a citation. Employees may not contest citations, amendments, penalties or lack of penalties.

Notice of Contest
To contest a citation or proposed penalty, a written response must be sent to the OSHA Area Director within 15 working days from the date of the citation. This written response is called a “Notice of Contest”. A copy of this notice must be given to the employees authorized representative, posted in a prominent location or given individually to affected employees. After 15 days no further opportunity will be given for appeal---the citation and penalty will stand as is.

Review Procedure
The OSHA Area Director will forward the case to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) which is an independent agency not associated with OSHA. The Commission will assign the case to an Administrative Law Judge and a hearing will be scheduled near the employers’ workplace. Once the Administrative Law Judge has rendered judgment, either the employer or employees may request an additional review by OSHRC. Any Commission ruling may be appealed to the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. For states that have their own occupational safety and health program, the procedures are generally similar to Federal OSHA except that the state review board or other equivalent authorities hear the cases.

Prevention is the Key
Do any of us want to go through the exhausting procedures described above? Of course not! For this reason, it is paramount that we get our hospitals into compliance immediately. Begin by assigning a trusted employee to oversee/manage your OSHA compliance program. Allow them to work with a company who can provide the items needed to achieve compliance including compliance manuals, eyewash, spill kits, various safety products, personnel protective equipment, and annual required training. The most important reason to achieve and maintain compliance is not to avoid an OSHA fine, but is instead to create a safe and healthful working environment for you and your veterinary team. Such an environment will gain the respect and admiration of your employees, who will understand and appreciate your concern for them.

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