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Pallet C e nt ral • July -Aug u st 2 0 26 4 3 cases, OSHA can train and educate workers and assist in establishing and improving safety and health programs. OSHA's consultation services are—theoretically—separate from OSHA's enforcement efforts. ey are organizationally located within OSHA's Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs. e "theoretical " part hinges on what happens when an employer participates in the CP but then rejects the findings and refuses to modify the workplace or equipment as recommended by the consultant. If noncompliant conditions are identified and documented by the consultant and are left unabated which places workers at risk, the CP will notify OSHA enforcement. If an inspection follows and the identified hazard has still not been corrected, and OSHA agrees there is a violation, it likely will be issued as a willful offense, with a penalty of up to $165,000 per piece of equipment or per affected worker. is is the single biggest downside to the free OSHA CP—modifications could include equipment replacement or other workplace alterations such as ventilation or noise that could cost millions of dollars, yet there is no real appeal mechanism. e employer would simply wait to see if a referral to OSHA enforcement occurs. ese professional referrals are given a top priority, so the chances are good that OSHA will show up to address a reported safety scofflaw! e CP is really intended for smaller- sized businesses (most Woodpack Global members would qualify), and the resulting report is confidential in terms of information you provide about the workplace and workers. Guidance says that unsafe or unhealthful conditions discovered by the CP "will not be reported routinely [emphasis added] to the OSHA inspection staff." e employer must make a commitment to correct serious job safety and health hazards at the outset before the CP visit, so failure to fix the identified programs will be viewed as a breach of that agreement, allowing the CP to report violations to OSHA enforcement. To initiate the CP process, the employer must request it (although often, OSHA area directors suggest participation as part of settlement discussions after citations are issued following an inspection or accident investigation). OSHA has an online consultants directory covering each state and territory, and the employer and consultant can discuss specific needs, visit dates, work schedules, and the urgency of the situation (osha. gov/consultation /director y-text). e visits can be throughout the worksite, which OSHA prefers, or they can address a specific need such as equipment guarding, combustible dust, or warehousing. e consultants will help the employer recognize hazards, and they can suggest general approaches and options as solutions. In some cases, worker training will be among the services offered. e consultants will not issue any citations or penalties. ey also will not guarantee that your facility will pass a future OSHA inspection, as conditions are dynamic and no consultant can "certify compliance." e employer receives a written report from the CP, and it is important to know if your insurance company requires these to be shared with it as a contractual condition. e CP reports are also discoverable by OSHA or in third-party tort actions via subpoena in the event of a future inspection or accident involving a contractor or temporary workers. If the future incident involves an identified condition that was corrected, and then backsliding occurred, this can have grave legal consequences in both OSHA and tort actions. In terms of process, the consultant will hold an opening conference and meet with the employer to review the CP role and the employer's responsibilities. If the company has an employee representative, they will likely want to participate in all conferences as well as the walk through process. OSHA does encourage maximum employee participation during the walk through so they can help identify hazards and concerns. e CP may also point to issues that might not be citable by OSHA but which are addressed through

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