Occupational Safety and Health Compliance

MGKF assists clients in understanding and meeting their regulatory compliance obligations under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and OSHA-approved state programs.  We help clients prepare for and respond to OSHA inspections, respond to and defend OSHA citations and complaints, and represent clients at informal conferences. We also provide regulatory counseling and practical guidance on satisfying OSHA requirements in the context of varied industries and operations, including assisting in the development of OSHA-compliant written programs and procedures. In addition, we help clients to prepare for OSHA inspections, present compelling arguments at conferences with OSHA, and respond to OSHA citations. We are experienced in defending clients against agency enforcement actions and in negotiating agency settlements.

_{Photo ©2013 Avi Loren Fox Photography}

Some representative OSHA matters handled by our firm include the following:

• Defended client in response to OSHA citations resulting from two separate fatalities, demonstrated that none of the alleged violations were "willful," and negotiated favorable settlement terms and penalties.
• Represented the Association of American Railroads and six Class I railroads in challenging OSHA's Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard.
• Assisted telecommunications company in evaluating the applicability of OSHA's asbestos construction standard and in designing an initial, representative asbestos exposure sampling protocol under that standard.
• Defended client that performs metal welding in response to an OSHA citation alleging violations of metal exposure limits, including new hexavalent chromium requirements. As part of this matter, we negotiated a settlement that included elimination of all "serious" violations and over 90 percent reduction in penalties.
• Assisted client in developing and drafting a lockout/tagout program, representative lockout/tagout procedures, and lockout/tagout training materials.
• Assisted clients in drafting written Electrical Safety Programs.
• Represented chemical manufacturer in response to OSHA enforcement action related to hazard communication, HAZWOPER, emergency action planning, guarding, and process safety management and negotiated favorable settlement of multiple citations.
• Represented university in achieving favorable settlement of an OSHA citation related to asbestos issues.
• Provided guidance and counseling to chemical manufacturing client in the development of multiple OSHA compliance programs.
• Conducted OSHA audits of several manufacturing facilities and provided legal guidance on compliance issues raised in the audit findings.
• Provided legal support and representation to manufacturers subject to OSHA auditing by third-party auditors.