Safety Basics VI: Employer and Employee Rights During OSHA Inspections

Ogletree Deakins Podcasts

In this installment of our Safety Basics podcast series, Frank Davis (Dallas) and John Surma (Houston) discuss employer and employee rights during an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection. John and Frank discuss employee rights, such as (1) the right to speak to OSHA inspectors without fear of retaliation or retribution by their employer; (2) the right to complain about work; (3) the right to refuse to work; (4) the right to information; (5) the right to participate in OSHA inspections; (6) the right to a workplace that is free from recognized hazards; and (7) the right to organize and form a union. They also cover employer rights, such as (1) the right to a reasonable inspection; (2) the right to representation during interviews of management employees; (3) the right not to perform work or engage in demonstrations of processes during an OSHA inspection; (4) the right to continue operating after a fatality or catastrophe; (5) the right to protect trade secrets or proprietary information from public disclosure; and (6) the right to establish the “unpreventable employee misconduct defense.”