Can i call osha

The four major categories the Act covers are general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture. If details about a specific hazard do not exist, employers and employees must adhere to the "general duty" clause, which is outlined in Section 5 a 1 of the OSH Act.

It states that each employer "shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". Employers are required to post injury reports from the previous year, even if no injuries occurred. The OSH Act allows for and even encourages states to formulate individual safety programs that will function under state law but continue to be monitored.

Furthermore, OSHA must approve the program. However, most state plans match federal plans. For more information about specific dangers employers must protect workers from, visit OSHA's Law and Regulations page. OSHA protects nearly all United States employees through federal and sometimes state law, including workers in manufacturing, agriculture, law and medicine, charity, construction, longshoring, organized labor, Postal Service, local government, private education and anyone protected by OSHA's federal- or state-approved health and safety plans.

Employees who experienced a violation may file a health or safety complaint. OSHA protects employees who report a violation and guarantees their identities will be kept confidential.

Some employees may still feel uncomfortable reporting a violation; consequently, other relevant parties may file one on an employee's behalf. Employees, representatives and anyone else aware of serious health or safety violations in the workplace have three options to file an OSHA complaint.

Therefore, sending your complaints to OSHA's national headquarters may not be the fastest or most efficient method. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act OSHA gives private sector workers and some public sector employees the right to file complaints about hazardous job conditions, including requests for on-site inspections. This fact sheet can help you decide when you should -- and when you shouldn't make a formal complaint to OSHA. An OSHA complaint should only be filed when you and your coworkers have judged that it is likely to produce positive results.

Indeed, filing an OSHA complaint should be viewed as one tactic among many for eliminating and preventing hazardous working conditions. Whether you are facing hazards that pose imminent danger and need immediate action or those that have persisted for years, consider the following steps before filing a complaint with OSHA:.

There are many good reasons for calling OSHA. You or your co-workers may be in imminent danger. You may have notified your employer about hazardous conditions and received an unsatisfactory response. Or you and your coworkers may believe direct notification of your employer may be too risky. But before contacting the agency, you should be familiar with some of OSHA's limitations:. OSHA standards do not cover every hazard, and many current standards are not protective enough.

For example, there are no federal standards regulating indoor air quality or extreme temperatures. Nationwide, there are approximately 2, federal and state OSHA inspectors responsible for enforcing the law at more than seven million workplaces. At its current staffing and inspection levels, OSHA would take more than years to inspect each of these workplaces just once.

Because of these limitations, OSHA relies on the "deterrent" impact of its enforcement program. Inspections that result in penalties at one workplace are intended to send a message that other employers should heed. In fact, many employers have a profound fear that OSHA will inspect their workplace. And workers should be aware that this possibility is often more effective than an actual inspection.

As one union safety committee member said, "If you haven't used the inspection as a threat, it's too soon to file a complaint. What happens after I file a complaint? Each complaint is evaluated by OSHA to determine whether it should be handled as an off-site investigation or an on-site inspection. Written complaints or filed online that are signed by workers or their representative and submitted to an OSHA area or regional office are more likely to result in on-site OSHA inspections.

What are my employers' responsibilities? Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. See a listing of employer responsibilities. What are my rights during an inspection? When the OSHA inspector arrives, workers and their representatives have the right to talk privately with the OSHA inspector before and after the inspection.

A worker representative may also go along on the inspection. Where there is no union or employee representative, the OSHA inspector must talk confidentially with a reasonable number of workers during the course of the investigation.

Does OSHA have other resources to help me? Each OSHA region has a labor liaison, whose job it is to maintain communication with organized and unorganized workers, Committees on Occupational Health and Safety, worker centers and coalitions, helping them navigate OSHA's organizational structure or complaint procedures, and to assist them in developing and updating health and safety programs.

You can contact them if you need help, if you want to establish a relationship between your group and OSHA, or if you want to establish or update a health and safety system in your workplace. Many OSHA standards require employers to provide personal protective equipment, when it is necessary to protect employees from job-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

These typically include: hard hats, gloves, goggles, safety glasses, welding helmets and goggles, face shields, chemical protective equipment and fall protection equipment. When Can a Complaint Be Filed? OSHA recommends that employees try to resolve safety and health issues first by reporting them to their supervisors, managers or the safety and health committee. At any time, however, employees can complain to their local OSHA Regional Office and ask for an inspection or an investigation.

In states with OSHA-approved state plans, employee complaints should be filed with the designated state agency. Who Can Complain? Employees or their representatives have a right to request an inspection of a workplace if they believe there is a violation of a safety or health standard, or if there is any danger that threatens physical harm, or if an "imminent danger" exists.

Anyone who knows about a workplace safety or health hazard may complain, and OSHA will investigate the concerns reported. What Information Must the Employee Provide? Employees or their representatives must provide enough information for OSHA to determine that a hazard probably exists.

They only need a good-faith belief that dangerous conditions exist in their workplace. Information you should have ready Because it is important to give as much complete and accurate information as possible about an alleged hazard, answers to the following types of questions may be useful: How many employees work at the site and how many are exposed to the hazard?

How and when are workers exposed? What work is performed in the unsafe or unhealthful area? What type of equipment is used? Is it in good condition? Have employees been informed or trained regarding hazardous conditions? What kinds of work are done nearby? How often and for how long do employees work at the task that leads to their exposure?

How long to your knowledge has the condition existed? Have any attempts been made to correct the problem? How many shifts work in the area and what times do they start? On what shifts does the hazard exist?

What personal protective equipment is required by the employer?