Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/921113
afety and health professionals understand the significance of documentation. If training is not documented, then in OSHA's view, it never occurred. If safety and health audits are not documented, there is nothing tangible to benchmark future performance against, or to ensure timely correction of observed hazards. Failing to document root cause accident investigations, or the critical "near miss" experiences, can result in the loss of a learning opportunity to eliminate shortcuts and other behaviors that need correction in order to avoid injuries, illnesses and property damage in the future. If disciplinary actions are not properly documented, it will be hard to ascertain when an employee gets to "step two" of a progressive discipline system and can open the employer up to allegations of disparate treatment. However, sometimes employers' best efforts to document critical safety and health activities can backfire, and the very documents created as a shield against OSHA citations can instead be used as a sword by the agency in its prosecution.sooner than some financial experts might believe. Training requirements are the most complex to document and track, and OSHA has a 270-page handbook that lists scores of standards that have some mandate for training. (See https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha2254.pdf). There are myriad other recordkeeping requirements that employers must fulfill to avoid being cited under relevant OSHA standards: workplace inspection reports, equipment examinations, lockout/tagout procedures, permit-required confined space requirements, hazard communication, hearing conservation programs, and injury/illness reports/records. The new maximum OSHA civil penalty is $126,749 per violation. In addition, falsified paperwork can result in criminal prosecutions under the Occupational Safety & Health Act (even without an accident case as a trigger), and can also be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. as federal "obstruction of justice" charges (or conspiracy, if more than one person colluded to falsify or destroy records) that can carry penalties of $250,000 and prison sentences of up to 20 years! Currently, OSHA can only issue citations for recordkeeping violations that occurred within six months of the inspection. OSHA's rule that allowed enforcement for the entire retention period (the "continuing violation" rule) was rescinded by Congress under the Congressional Review Act. However, this does not absolve employers from the obligation to keep records for their entire mandated period, which can range from a year to 30 years or more, depending on the nature of the report. When it comes to producing documents to OSHA, historically there have been distinctions between mandatory items (those required by specific standards or regulations) and non-mandatory documents (those prepared by the company for internal use, such as audits, discipline records, near miss reports, accident reports, voluntary air and noise sampling results, job safety analysis forms, safety and health policies and programs). In recent years, however, those lines have become blurred and documents that companies once prepared to use as a shield against OSHA liability are now Sword 30 PalletCentral • November-December 2017 palletcentral.com S Safety & Health Records: Shield or SAFETY By Adele L. Abrams, Esq., CMSP iStockphoto.com/nickylarson974 OSHA