Safety Checklist For Your First Office Space

A blogger for The Charlotte Observer interviewed Ed Foulke for the June 3 post entitled “Safety Checklist For Your First Office Space.”

The article was picked up by several other media outlets. Ed, who is co-chair of the firm's Workplace Safety and Catastrophe Management Practice Group and former head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under President George W. Bush, offered advice to new business owners on staying OSHA compliant. 

Ed noted that every entrepreneur needs to realize that once he or she starts a new venture and hires their first employee, they are automatically covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and subject to safety and health inspections by Compliance Officers with OSHA.

He said there are three broad areas of safety and health concerns that all entrepreneurs must examine when setting up their first office space.

The first is the physical structure, the second is the selection of equipment and office furniture, and the final concern involves other safety and health issues of which the small business owner must be aware.

These issues can include state and local safety regulations not covered under the first two concerns, as well as safety and health hazards that would necessitate the use of personal protective equipment at the worksite and any safety training that will be necessary to meet OSHA requirements.