Does OSHA Inspect Employers with 10 or Fewer Employees?
I don’t know how many times over the years I have heard various people state that if you have less than 10 employees you are exempt from OSHA. I can understand why they have come to this conclusion. However, this train of thought may not be totally accurate. So let’s take a closer look.
Looking at OSHA’s compliance directive CPL 02-00-051 - CPL 2-0.51J – “Enforcement Exemptions and Limitations under the Appropriations Act” it outlines who OSHA can inspect and for what reasons. The table below best outlines this information. But in a nutshell if you are part of a farm that has 10 or fewer employees and don’t have any temporary labor camps, Federal OSHA pretty much cannot come in for any reason. If you are a farm with more than 10 employees or you have had a temporary labor camp within the last 12 months then they can inspect you for pretty much any reason.
If you are part of an operation outside of farming with an SIC (Standard Industrial Classification Code) with a Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate less than the national average rate of 2.0 then there are some types of inspections you are exempt from. Such as programmed general safety inspections. However, you are not exempt for programs health inspections. To see the whole list take a look at the chart below.
Now, how do you know if your SIC is on the list of exempt? Well the best bet is to click the link and go to appendix A of the CPL 02-00-051 - CPL 2-0.51J – “Enforcement Exemptions and Limitations under the Appropriations Act“.
Keep in mind this is for Federal OSHA only and State programs may and do have different rules.
There is one other bit of information for non-farm employers of ten or fewer employees who do receive an inspection from OSHA. If it is a complaint that prompted the inspection, it must be made by a current employee. Citations may be issued for any violation found during a complaint inspection whether or not the violation found was a subject of the complaint. But penalties may only be assessed when the violations are classified as willful violations or failure to abate notifications and when such violations and failure to abate notifications are related to the original complaint.
So while small employers do have some exemptions unless you are a small farm OSHA can inspect your operation. But keep in mind whether OSHA can or can’t come through your doors it is still imperative to keep employee safety first and foremost in all you do.
Note: OSHA defines “Ten or fewer employees” as an employer who employs 10 or fewer employees currently and at all times during the last 12 months.
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January 22nd, 2010 at 10:13 am
[…] Does OSHA Inspect Employers with 10 or Fewer Employees? | Advanced Safety Health News Blog www.advancedsafetyhealth.com/blog/index.php/does-osha-inspect-employers-with-10-or-fewer-employees – view page – cached Clarification as to whether OSHA does or does not inspect emplyers with ten or fewer employees […]