OSHA and Workplace Safety
Counsel that keeps you prepared and proactive on workplace safety
Capabilities at a glance
- We strive to serve all parties’ interests in promoting workplace safety, maintaining a safe workplace, minimizing penalties and negative classifications imposed on our clients, and satisfying regulators’ desire for abatement.
- We regularly represent clients during inspections and in follow-on dealings with OSHA and state agencies.
- An interdisciplinary group that responds quickly to fast-moving situations, whether an unannounced inspection or a catastrophic workplace event.
- Legal advice that is proactive and prevention-focused, as part of a holistic approach to labor and employment law.
Working together with all parties to ensure safe working environments
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) abides by the principle that it’s better to be safe than sorry. So do our clients, who rely on the comprehensive and reassuring experience we bring to a high-risk area of law. When federal and state workplace safety regulators conduct inspections, Quarles is there, ready to support your organization. If and when regulators issue citations, we gather the relevant facts and advocate in your best interests. In high-stakes cases where settlement is impossible, our team is well prepared to aggressively litigate OSHA citations on your behalf. We also are forward-looking and proactive. We counsel clients on prevention-focused strategies in workplace safety, including assistance with general compliance auditing. Among other initiatives, we can provide you with customized safety programs and OSHA-compliant handbooks and policies.
Skilled attorneys with dedicated knowledge of OSHA regulations
Representing clients effectively on workplace safety issues demands deep knowledge in multiple areas, beginning with highly technical OSHA regulations. Our skilled attorneys understand them exceptionally well, with years of dedicated experience on what are sometimes challenging cases. The Quarles OSHA and Workplace Safety team does not operate in a silo, however; we work closely with the firm’s wider Labor & Employment, Environmental and Health & Life Sciences Practice Groups for insight into potential workplace dangers and a thorough understanding of these highly regulated sectors.
Experience
- Represent employers during inspections, investigations, enforcement actions and litigation.
- Respond to catastrophic workplace incidents, including collapse, fatalities, explosions and chemical leaks.
- Handle appeals of OSHA citations and negotiating settlements.
- Defend employers against acts of retaliation and whistleblowing.
- Conduct workplace safety audits.
- Counsel on the development and implementation of safety standards, as well as compliance with those standards.
Successes
- After a client had an accident that resulted in a fatality, we immediately assisted the client with meeting its OSHA notice obligations, preparing the client for the OSHA audit, assisting with internal communications and external public relations, and obtaining a favorable resolution of the citations issued by OSHA in connection with the accident. We also helped the client by partnering with a third-party safety entity to conduct workplace audits of its facilities, in order to proactively address potential safety concerns.
- Evaluated and advised an employer regarding construction work involving cutting of asbestos bricks, including OSHA regulatory compliance and separation of workspaces.
- Assisted an employer who potentially experienced an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease by coordinating with the local health department, working with environmental engineers to test and abate any issues, and advise on messaging to employees.
