Workplace Safety and Health

We Understand Both Sides

Our Workplace Safety and Health team boasts enduring relationships with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) , state plan occupational safety and health agencies, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). These connections, combined with our experience with these entities, enable us to settle disputes in a cost-effective and efficient manner, often circumventing litigation.

We represent employers across key sectors such as agriculture, construction, oil and gas, energy (including renewable energy), mining, manufacturing, and transportation, adeptly navigating them through complex enforcement proceedings, including those involving multiple fatalities and other catastrophic incidents.

Our experience includes the preparation of notices contesting any alleged violation of safety and health standards, proposed abatement dates, and the types and amounts of proposed monetary penalties. We have full knowledge of all standards, including the general duty standard and other general standards.

We advise employers seeking variances from federal and state standards. Our attorneys have a strong record of success in representing employers in obtaining favorable settlement of citations, including withdrawal of citations, reductions in severity of citations, extensions of abatement dates, and reductions in proposed monetary penalties. If settlement is not viable, we have extensive experience representing employers in defense of complaints brought by state and federal agencies, which are heard by administrative law judges or hearing officers.

Services

Our services include:

Safety and Health Counseling. We assist clients in developing and implementing safety and health programs with an eye toward OSHA and MSHA compliance as well as incident prevention.

Assistance with Catastrophic Incidents. We provide rapid response to workplace accidents, assisting our clients with regulatory inspections and conducting post-accident investigations. Our representation includes advice about employee, employer, and state and federal government inspector rights concerning inspections. For example, attorneys in this practice can explain an employer’s right to require a search warrant or subpoena prior to any inspection and the employer’s right to negotiate a limited inspection without a search warrant or subpoena.

Litigation of Regulatory Citations. Our Workplace Safety and Health team has decades of experience representing clients before various federal and state adjudicatory bodies, achieving successful outcomes at various stages of litigation. We also have extensive experience representing employers in appellate review of decisions at the administrative level and in state and federal courts.