Eesp

[jimbo123]

Would a company be in violation with OSHA if their safety program said that they had certain rules or policy that they followed and when Osha came in they proved that they did not follow or have such ?

 

[zog]

Yep, one of ther most common violations

 

[WorkSafe]

I agree with Zog. This is quite common like he mentioned. If the company has a certain policy and does not follow it, OSHA could cite you for a General Duty Clause 5(a)(1) violation.

 

[petersonra]

Would a company be in violation with OSHA if their safety program said that they had certain rules or policy that they followed and when Osha came in they proved that they did not follow or have such ?

The answer is not simple. If it is a true safety issue, the answer leans greatly toward the "yes" side.

However, sometimes the answer is not so clear.

For instance, it is common practice in many places to grind the paint off under a ground lug, even though the screw threads are quite adequate to make good contact. There is no real safety hazard involved. Just a practice they follow. probably no violation.

My understanding is you won't get a fine unless there is an actual hazard, but that following your own rules provides a certain level of protection even if there is a hazard.

And keep in mind that many things that people will cite as company safety policies, often cannot be found in the written safety rules the company has.