OSHA expands employee representation rights during inspections – Technologist

On April 1, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule that “clarifies” (in reality, expands) the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany a Compliance Safety and Health Officer during an inspection of their workplace. Federal law gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. Previous regulations were unclear whether the worker representative had to be employed by the employer or have specific safety-related skills (such as an industrial hygienist or safety engineer). The new rule clarifies that the workers may authorize another employee to be their representative or select a non-employee, third-party representative, with no specific limitations on their skillset.

Guidelines for Third Party Representative
For a third-party representative to accompany the OSHA compliance officer, they must show good cause why they are reasonably necessary to aid in the inspection. They may be reasonably necessary based on skills, knowledge, or experience. The individual’s experience may include knowledge or experience with hazards or conditions in the workplace or similar workplaces, or language or communication skills to ensure an effective and thorough inspection. This clarification aims to improve OSHA’s workplace inspections by allowing employees to select their representative(s) of choice to accompany the compliance officer and expands the pool of potential representatives by removing the specific qualification requirements. The rule is effective on May 31, 2024.

Tips: Because of the flexibility in the new rule for authorizing a worker representative, employees could select an individual such as attorney, a union official, or community advocate to represent their interests during the walkaround. OSHA-approved state plans (such as those in Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington) have six months to adopt regulations that are the same or “at least as effective” as this federal rule, unless they already meet that standard. For safety-related questions or in the event of an OSHA inspection, contact your Vigilant safety professional for assistance.