Workplace Safety and Health

We offer all employers a wide range of services addressing employee safety and health. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Law (OSHA) and similar state laws establish various standards that employers must meet to protect the safety and health of employees.

Taft attorneys have in-depth experience advising employers on how to comply with state and federal record keeping, notices and reporting requirements and applicable safety and health standards, as well as administrative and court decisions. Our representation includes advice about employee, employer and state and federal government inspector rights prior to safety and health inspections, during inspections, and after inspections have been concluded. 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.

Our attorneys’ experience includes preparation of notices of contest contesting any alleged violation of safety and health standards, contesting 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, as well as industry standards such as construction, agriculture and shipping.

We have the ability to advise employers seeking variances from federal and state health and safety standards. Our attorneys have a very successful record of 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 successful, we have extensive experience representing employers in defense of complaints brought by state and federal agencies, which are heard and decided by administrative law judges or hearing officers. Research is performed to develop applicable defenses to complaints.

Attorneys in Taft’s Workplace Safety and Health practice also have extensive experience representing employers in appellate review of the decisions of administrative law judges and hearing officers at the administrative level and in state and federal courts.