Small Businesses Eligible for Free Consultation from OSHA Professionals
If you own your own business, then you are already well aware that you have a legal obligation to make sure your workplace is healthy and safe for your employees as well as your customers. And if you know that, you must also know that if you fail to meet these requirements, you could very well be cited and penalized by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).
However, you may not know that the OSHA regulations can be both unwieldy and costly, especially if you are a small business owner. When it comes to inspections by the OSHA and the improvements that undoubtedly follow, many small business owners have no idea where to begin. Fortunately, there are some programs designed to help, including a free on-site consultation provided by the OSHA itself. What could be more beneficial?
In 2010 OSHA’s program visited nearly 30,000 businesses where free consultants offered confidential, non-punitive advice to small business owners. The best thing about these consultations, as you have probably already noticed, is that if an OSHA finds that you are in fault of a guideline or code, you won’t be cited. The consultants are there to help you get everything in order. They will help identify problem areas, give you advice and even help establish management systems and train your employees.
But even though a consultant helps you out, this doesn’t mean you are off the hook; you may still have some work to do. After you get a detailed report from your consultant, you will be expected to fix the problems and make the necessary changes by an agreed upon date. Obviously,the overall goal of the plan is to help your small business become OSHA compliant.
Source: Reuters – OSHA Offers Free Consults to Small Businesses
FindLaw – OSHA Offers Free Consults to Small Businesses