As an employer, you should be providing a safe workplace for all your employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (or OSHA) creates basic standards for employers to adhere to, and employers protect themselves and their employees by remaining OSHA compliant. Since OSHA regularly updates their regulations, it’s a good idea to obtain frequent training from a trusted source. As you stay informed of the latest standards, you’ll have the necessary knowledge to avoid fines, lawsuits, and the loss of your business license.

Basic OSHA Requirements
Take some time to consult the listed laws and regulations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. You’ll find the website breaks standards up into four groups: general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture. It’s important to remember you ensure a safe environment for all since standards include extensive and specific information.

Some basic requirements include:

•       Workplace free from serious recognized hazards
•       Functioning and maintained tools and equipment
•       Appropriate labels or signs to warn of potential hazards
•       Regular safety trainings in an understandable language
•       Medical examinations and training when required
•       Prominently placed posters of employee rights and responsibilities
•       Accessible records of work-related injuries

OSHA standards encourage all employees to report any compliance failures. Employees who do so receive discrimination protection through OSHA standards. But how do employers ensure that their workplace remains compliant?

Go Beyond Compliance
The best way to remain compliant with OSHA standards is to go beyond compliance. That way, you provide an above-reproach system of safety for everyone involved. Below are some tips to help you achieve more than just the bare minimum requirements:

•       Watch provided videos to learn about Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
•       Reduce workplace injury and illness to qualify for OSHA’s Safety Pays Program
•       Obtain a free and confidential on-site consultation to identify and correct problems
•       Visit related pages on the OSHA website to learn all that you can
•       Learn about OSHA’s cooperative programs

If you ever have any doubt about recent changes in OSHA regulation, consult the Federal Register to receive updated information about recently published standards.
Staying compliant becomes difficult when you don’t know what the rules say, even when the rules change from year to year. Require an annual training course for yourself and other managers, including your Human Resource representatives. This allows you to refresh your memory, and also to help employees comply on a day-to-day basis.
Post and provide reference materials to ensure that each person at your company has access to the necessary information. Knowledge helps everyone stay safe and compliant.
Lastly, one of the best ways to go above and beyond OSHA requirements is conducting random OSHA inspections on your own. Your HR manager might check any work areas to enforce safety standards. Let your employees know that you take OSHA seriously, and that repeated offenses won’t go unpunished.

Any LLM online program graduate or lawyer will tell you, businesses who don’t stay OSHA compliant are faced with legal consequences. As you lead your company, make sure you have everything in place to stay OSHA compliant and are ready to face anything that comes your way.