Below is an excerpt of an article co-authored by Megan Baroni and Jon Schaefer and published in Construction Executive on May 26, 2021. Megan and Jon are partners in Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group.
There are a number of best practices that an employer may wish to follow when faced with any Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection, including:
- determining the reason for the inspection;
- obtaining a copy of the complaint;
- designating an employee representative;
- accompanying the inspector on the visit;
- documenting the inspector’s findings;
- providing requested documents; and
- being prepared for follow-up.
But how are these best practices complicated by a global pandemic? Over the past year, COVID-19 has brought changes to construction workplaces and to OSHA’s inspection and enforcement focus. The construction industry has kept moving in the face of these challenges, but COVID-19 has and will continue to impact workplaces, and workplace procedures, into the future. Read the article.