BOS 3525 Legal Aspects Of Safety And Health

Question: Part 1-Draft a letter in response to the complaint. Your letter should summarize why you believe the complaint is invalid and no on-site inspection is required. Keep in mind, simply stating that the complaint is invalid is not adequate. You must support your opinions in the letter. Part 2 Answer the questions below in a few sentences. 1. Where does this type of complaint fit on OSHA’s Priority criteria? 2. What factors could have made this complaint non-formal rather than formal? 3. What steps could you take as the employer to identify the employee who filed the complaint? 4. What factors could result in this complaint being reclassified as a formal complaint? Answer: Part 1: Letter In Response To The Complaint To, The employee (Name) United States Sub: Response to an employee complaint regarding welding area Dear Mr. (Employee name), This letter is a formal response to the complaints we have received from you regarding inadequate ventilation facilities in the area for employees performing welding operations on stainless steel. We admit that welding on stainless steel products requires special ventilation and we have focused on maintaining employee’s safety indoor by using local exhaust. In addition, other safety requirement for workers is that they must keep gases and fumes out from their breathing zone. We have given all required safety training to workers before hiring them for welding work. Moreover, there is no question regarding the effectiveness of the dust mask because medical evaluation and training has been provided to workers before using it. Hence, we would like to state that all safety requirement and protection measures are present for employees during the welding process and in this situation, we believe the no on-site inspection is not required at the area. Based on the above justification and explanation regarding safety of employees ate the area, the complaint stands in-valid, however to address the concern of employees, we may also look to provide additional OSHA approved respirator mask and conduct medical assessment of workers very soon. Respirators can provides specific health benefits to workers during the welding process. Thank You. Yours faithfully, OSHA Director Part 2: Answers Related To The Non-Formal Complaint By The Employee The complaint by the employee was a non-formal complaint and according to the OSHA priority criteria, this type of complain comes under the OSHA complaints handling process. It cannot inspect all workplaces it covers each year, hence they focus on inspection on the basis of the following priorities: Imminent danger situations Severe injuries and illnesses Workers complaints Referrals of hazards Targeted inspections Follow up inspection (OSHA Inspections, 2017). Hence, as the above letter is in response to a worker’s complaint regarding safety at welding unit, it also under high priority because workers complaints is mentioned under the list of priorities for inspection. Therefore, OSHA may look into the allegations imposed by the employee. The first step for them before inspection would be to evaluate the employee’s complaints and identify the reasonable ground to believe that it is a violation of an OSHA standard of health and safety (OSHA Complaint Handling Process | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2017). OSHA received both formal and non-formal complaints from workplace. In the scenario above, a non-formal complaint was given by the employee. The circumstance that has made this complaint non-formal rather than formal is that the employee did not followed any of the below mentioned process to raise the complain: Assertion of imminent danger Violation of OSHA standards exposing employee to harm Complaint is reduced and submitted as an OSHA-7 form It is signed by at least one current employee or workplace representative Hence, the complaint has become non-formal. The complaint from the employee is also regarded as non-formal because it was not received from any of the sources give below: CHSO referral based on direct observation Safety and health agency referral 11 (c) complaint referral Other agency referral Media report Employer report (CPL 02-00-140 – Complaint Policies and Procedures | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2017). The identity of the employee was not provided in case of a non-formal complaint for inadequate ventilation in the welding area. However, an employer can identify the employee who filed the complaint by looking at the address and location. They can also look for records of employees going for complaints and investigate about hazardous issues in their workplace by investigating about related issues from the medical response team. A non-formal complaint can be reclassified as formal complaint if the situation discussed by the employee reported signs of imminent danger. The employee just mentioned about workers coughing up black sputum, however no report was provided regarding event that was life threatening for workers. The complaint would have also taken a formal status if another employee raise the same complain regarding the site. All other criteria’s mentioned for the complaint to be defined as formal can also help to reclassify the complain as formal (CPL 02-00-140 – Complaint Policies and Procedures | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2017). Reference CPL 02-00-140 – Complaint Policies and Procedures | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2017). Osha.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017, from https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=3389 OSHA Complaint Handling Process | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2017). Osha.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017, from https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/handling.html OSHA Inspections. (2017). Retrieved 16 November 2017, from https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/factsheet-inspections.pdf

BOS 3525 Legal Aspects Of Safety And Health

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