Meagan Newman Quoted in Occupational Safety and Health Reporter
“Construction Firms Should Review Systems Due to OSHA Enforcement, Attorney Says”

Meagan Newman was quoted in the February 25, 2010 Occupational Safety and Health Reporter article, "Construction Firms Should Review Systems Due to OSHA Enforcement, Attorney Says." The article reported on the 20th Annual Construction Safety Conference and Exposition where Megan spoke on OSHA enforcement. According to Meagan, in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) tougher enforcement posture, construction firms should ensure their internal safety compliance systems are current, comprehensive and effective. Meagan explained that enforcement under OSHA has become a major priority for the Obama administration. She noted that “We are in an enhanced enforcement climate. We are going to see more inspections, more citations and higher penalties, especially if the Protecting America's Workers Act comes into play. So we need to do our best to make sure not only are we providing the safest possible conditions for the employees, but we need to make sure we are not unnecessarily leaving ourselves open to citations and high penalties as a result of these inspections.”

Meagan suggested that employers pay special attention to their internal safety incentive programs. While the intentions of such programs might be good, OSHA is concerned that some programs actually cause workers to underreport injuries and illnesses to win prizes and other rewards. She pointed out, “You want to be careful when you are having discussions about reward programs because they can lead to potential areas of inquiry about whether they serve as disincentives to report."

Meagan also advised that "The number one thing you can do is: ensure that your safety programs are compliant and your training is up to date. Now is as good a time as any, when the weather is cold and your job sites are a little slow, to take a deep breath and open up those binders and take a look at what safety programs you have.” She stressed that construction firms must actively protect themselves if they sense the inspection will result in a list of citations. On this point, she said there are several viable legal defenses. Such defenses include: the standard is not applicable; there was no knowledge of the cited conduct; there was no exposure to the alleged hazard; and, infeasibility. Meagan added that employers can also argue that the alleged misconduct is attributable to an employee despite internal procedures and training designed to address the hazard.