Safety and Health

You have a right to a safe and healthful workplace. Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, requiring employers to provide workplaces free from serious recognized hazards and to comply with occupational safety and health standards.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration was created to help protect workers by setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards and by providing safety and health information, training and assistance to workers and employers.

If you work in the private sector, you are covered by an OSHA regional office or an OSHA program operated by your state government. Public sector workers in states that run their own OSHA programs are covered by those states. Public sector workers are not covered in states under federal OSHA jurisdiction.

RIGHT TO KNOW
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 gives you the right to:

Information from your employer about Occupational Safety and Health Act standards, worker injuries and illnesses, job hazards and workers' rights.
Information from your employer on safety and health hazards in your workplace, chemicals used in your workplace, tests your employer has done to measure chemical, noise and radiation levels, precautions you should take and procedures to be followed if you or other employees are involved in an incident or are exposed to hazardous chemicals or other toxic substances.
Request copies of appropriate standards, rules, regulations and requirements that your employer should have available at the workplace.
Review the Log and Summary of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA 300) at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner or have an authorized representative do so for you. (29 CFR 1904.7)
Access relevant exposure and medical records. (29 CFR 1910.1020)

Employers must inform you of the existence, location and availability of your medical and exposure records when you first begin employment and at least annually thereafter. Employers also must provide these records to you or your designated representatives within 15 days of your request.

When an employer plans to stop doing business and there is no successor employer to receive and maintain these records, the employer must notify you of your right of access to records at least 3 months before the employer ceases to do business.

Observe any monitoring or measuring of toxic materials or chemicals, as well as harmful physical agents, such as noise, and see the resulting records. If the exposure levels are above the OSHA limit, the employer must tell you what will be done to reduce the exposure -- the right to observe monitoring exists only where monitoring is performed pursuant to a standard that provides employees with the right to observe.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
You can:

File a complaint with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) if you believe that there are either violations of OSHA standards or serious workplace hazards.
File a complaint and request OSHA to conduct an inspection if you believe serious workplace hazards or violations of standards exist in your workplace. You can file a complaint online, in writing, by telephone or fax. If you want an OSHA inspector to come inspect your workplace, put your complaint in writing and send it to the OSHA office nearest you. (OSH Act, Section 8), (29 CFR 1903.11)
Request in your written complaint that OSHA keep your name confidential if you do not want your employer to know who filed the complaint. (OSH Act, Section 8)
Have an authorized employee representative (such as a union representative) accompany the OSHA compliance officer during the inspection tour. (OSH Act, Section 8), (29 CFR 1903.8)
File a discrimination complaint (under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act) within 30 days if you are punished or discriminated against for exercising your safety and health rights or for refusing to work (not guaranteed by the OSH Act) when faced with an imminent danger of death or serious injury and there is insufficient time for OSHA to inspect.
Contact the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to request a health hazard evaluation if you are concerned about toxic effects of a substance in the workplace.

NOTE: States with OSHA-approved state plans (23 states that can be found here: http://www.osha.gov/fso/osp/index.html) provide at least the same rights and protections (and in some cases additional rights) to workers, although they may follow slightly different procedures.

WHAT TO EXPECT
During an inspection, here is what to expect:

The authorized employee representative has a right to accompany an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) compliance officer (also referred to as a compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) or inspector) during an inspection. Under no circumstances may the employer choose the workers' representative.

Where there is no union or employee representative, the OSHA inspector must talk confidentially with a reasonable number of workers during the course of the investigation.

Respond to questions from the compliance officer and tell the compliance officer about workplace hazards, particularly if there is no authorized employee representative accompanying the compliance officer on the inspection "walkaround." (OSH Act, Section 8)

You and your coworkers have a right to talk privately and confidentially to the compliance officer whether or not a workers' representative has been chosen.

You may point out hazards, describe injuries or illnesses or near misses that resulted from those hazards and describe past complaints about hazards. Inform the inspector if working conditions are not normal during the inspection. Make sure that the inspector is aware if equipment has been shut down, windows opened or other conditions changed from normal.

INFO TO PREVENT WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
High-Risk of Violence in Certain Retail Occupations

Workers in many occupations in the retail sector face an above-average risk of violence. Even if an establishment is classified in a segment of the industry with a relatively low incidence of reported workplace violence, employees in certain occupations may have an elevated risk of being victimized. During 1990-1992, the average risk of homicides for all occupations was 0.7 per 100,000 employees per year. The retail occupations at highest risk for homicide during this period are as follows :

Gasoline service and garage workers: 5.9 per 100,000
Stock handlers and baggers: 3.5 per 100,000
Sales supervisors and proprietors: 3.3 per 100,000
Salescounter clerks: 3.1 per 100,000

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has developed this PDF document for use in the late-night retail industry, especially for convenience stores, liquor stores, and gasoline stations. Other types of retail establishments providing services during evening and night hours also may find this information helpful. This document will help retail employers design, select, and implement prevention programs based on the specific risk factors they identify in their particular workplaces.