OSHA Initiates Compliance Outreach

Written By: Atanu Das on Monday, October 29, 2018

In an August 2018 news release, OSHA announced a new initiative to expand the agency’s compliance outreach. Included in this awareness drive is the launch of the worker.gov and employer.gov websites with resources to assess workplace compliance.

One helpful tool in the employer site allows workers to answer a series of questionnaires with the elaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) checklist. Under the health and safety elaw, a hazard awareness adviser walks through the identification of the site work operations, condition of walking/working surfaces, chemical use and other potential workplace hazards. Depending on the complexity of the exact workplace conditions, the process can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes to complete.  

Upon completion the tool will generate a summary in two parts:

• Part I: hazards that may be present, best practices or strategies to control them, and applicable OSHA Standards.  
• Part II: a check list of OSHA Standards that appear applicable based on your answers

An example from a hypothetical facility response is below:

After using this tool, you may have further questions on developing a strategy to comply with the standards. Let us help