The Workplace Safety and Health Practice attorneys offer all employers a wide range of services addressing employee safety and health. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Law (OSHA) and similar state laws establish various standards employers must meet to protect the safety and health of employees.
Our attorneys have in-depth experience in advising employers how to comply with state and federal record keeping, notices and reporting requirements and applicable safety and health standards, as well as administrative and court decisions. Representation includes advice about employee, employer and state and federal government inspector rights prior to safety and health inspections, during inspections and after inspections have been concluded.
For example, attorneys in this practice can explain the employer’s right to require a search warrant or subpoena prior to any inspection and the employer’s right to negotiate a limited inspection without a search warrant or subpoena.
Our attorneys' experience includes preparation of notices of contest contesting any alleged violation of safety and health standards, contesting proposed abatement dates and the types and amounts of proposed monetary penalties. We have full knowledge of all standards, including the general duty standard and other general standards, as well as the various industry standards such as construction, agriculture and shipping industry standards.
We have the ability to advise employers seeking variances from federal and state health and safety standards. Attorneys in this practice area have a very successful record of representing employers in obtaining favorable settlement of citations, including withdrawal of citations, reductions in severity of citations, extensions of abatement dates and reductions in proposed monetary penalties.
Should settlement not be successful, we have extensive experience in representing employers in defense of complaints brought by state and federal agencies which are heard and decided by administrative law judges or hearing officers. Research will be performed to develop applicable defenses to complaints.
Attorneys in the Workplace Safety and Health Practice also have extensive experience representing employers in appellate review of the decisions of administrative law judges and hearing officers at the administrative level and in state and federal courts.
