2014 Workforce Safety and OSHA Webinar Forum

Please join members of the Fisher Phillips Workplace Safety and Catastrophic Management Practice Group for a free webinar series to provide the latest updates on OSHA’s enforcement and regulatory focuses, effective settlement strategies, as well as in depth analysis on safety and health best practices and how they impact a company’s safety program.

The first program will be conducted by Fisher Phillips partner, Edwin G. Foulke, Jr.

Prior to joining Fisher Phillips, Ed was the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. Named by President George W. Bush to head OSHA, he served from April 2006 to November 2008.

During his tenure at OSHA, workplace injury, illness and fatality rates dropped to their lowest levels in recorded history. He also served on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in Washington, D.C., chairing the Commission from March 1990 to February 1994. Ed is recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on occupational safety and health issues and one of the top speakers and writers in this area.

How to Handle An OSHA Inspection, Including Third Party Participation
May 27, 2014
2:00 p.m.

Effectively Handling An OSHA Inspection:
How to Legally Protect Your Rights
The Obama administration has put the teeth back in OSHA's bite, and all employers are in OSHA’s inspection crosshairs. Companies continue struggling to figure out their rights when an OSHA inspector enters their business. Would your Company be prepared if you opened the door today to find an OSHA compliance officer ready to inspect your business? Do you know your legal rights and how to handle an inspection from an enforcement-drive OSHA?

Topics covered include:

• How to conduct a pre-inspection of your facility and correct any errors you find before an OSHA Compliance Officer ever sets foot on your site.
• A step-by-step strategy for handling an OSHA inspection - when to admit the investigators and when to request a search warrant.
• How to professionally handle inspectors onsite, and the benefits of doing so.
• Know your rights: What NOT to say or do during the inspection.
• The best ways to handle employee and management interviews and potential whistleblowers.
• How to handle document requests from OSHA and what documents OSHA is entitled to receive.
• Your best legal options in the event you receive a citation.

OSHA Recordkeeping
June 24, 2014
2:00 p.m.

100% Compliance With OSHA Recordkeeping – Anything Less Will Be Costly
Do you believe that your company is 100% compliant with OSHA’s recordkeeping regulations? Most likely you are NOT! Most employers think their OSHA recordkeeping logs and procedures are fully compliant, only to learn after an OSHA inspection and, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties, that they were NOT.

OSHA has launched a full frontal attack with the evolution of a National Emphasis Program on Recordkeeping and is directing all OSHA inspectors to look at a company’s 300 logs for up to five previous years for violations of the OSHA recordkeeping rules. The end result is many employers are receiving five- and six-digit penalties for those violations.

This presentation will provide participants with the necessary information to know:

• Whether the injury or illness is work-related and recordable.
• The difference between medical treatment and first aid.
• What information needs to go on the OSHA 300 logs and 300A summaries to be fully compliant.
• The time limits for recording injuries and illnesses as well as providing the logs to OSHA and employees.
• Requirements for reporting fatalities and the hospitalization of several employees.
• The most recent OSHA recordkeeping interpretation.
• Common errors by employers in handling recordkeeping.

Catastrophic Accidents: Prevention and Handling
September 16, 2014
2:00 p.m.

Catastrophic Workplace Accidents: It Could Happen To You
No employer ever expects a catastrophic workplace accident or incident to occur at their work site. However, while the American workplace is safer than ever, hardly a week goes by without a news report concerning a plant explosion, a chemical release or a fatality arising out of a workplace accident. The fact is that these events do happen, and it is critical that you have an effective response plan in place.

Reacting after the fact will only complicate things…poor response to the event, fragmented and inconsistent communication both internally and externally, difficulty and delays in getting operations back on line. Clearly the best approach is to have a good overall EHS program to avoid such incidents AND to have an effective response plan in case something catastrophic does happen. But how best to prepare?

This program will examine:

• The essential components of a comprehensive program both from a regulatory perspective as well as a “common sense” perspective.
• Some catastrophic incident response best practices that you should consider.
• Some practical and proven strategies for establishing an effective internal and external communications process.
• How to determine and assure all required notifications occur.
• Who are the key contacts that you need to identify, both within in the company as well as with first responders and community organizations.
• How to design an effective response plan and who needs to be involved.
• Some proven strategies for evacuation and other steps you can take to assure that the event does not become even more severe.
• How to evaluate processes and operations in order to establish comprehensive shutdown procedures.
• Some approaches for testing your plan and assuring that all involved personnel are properly trained and prepared.
• How to sensitively deal with families of employees impacted by the event.
• Some ways to identify and evaluate third party resources that might be helpful in your plan development, implementation, and evaluation process.

13 Strategies for Improving Your Safety Program
October 21, 2014
2:00 p.m.

13 Way To Improve Your Safety Program
If OSHA has fallen off your radar screen, it is time to put it back on. The number of OSHA penalties in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars has significantly increased in the past year. This session will examine the new enforcement-focused OSHA and new special emphasis programs as well as safety legislation changes currently being debated in Congress. The session will also review the essential elements of OSHA compliance and an effective workplace safety and health program, with an eye to the use of safety issues by unions and a growing group of whistleblowers. The session will explain how, when used properly, safety compliance can be a "profit center" and not another administrative cost.

OSHA’s Focus on Safety Incentives, Severe Violations Enforcement Program, and the use of Temporary Employees in the Workplace
November 18, 2014
2:00 p.m.