In an ever-shifting regulatory landscape with increasing workplace regulations and mandates, and new governmental priorities announced and implemented regularly, employers in all industries face a growing risk for Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and state-plan investigations. Record level enforcement budgets are forcing employers to contend more and more with claims of discrimination and retaliation under OSHA, or one of the twenty-one other federal acts with whistleblower provisions in which OSHA has investigatory and litigation authority. Further, employers may be automatically subject to federal or state-plan OSHA on-site inspections due to imminent danger, fatalities, explosions, catastrophes, complaints, referrals, follow-up inspections, and programmed inspections.
Akerman's Workplace Safety and Health Practice has comprehensive experience in counseling, representing, and defending employers of all sizes during federal and state-plan OSHA inspections, investigations, citations, settlement negotiations, administrative hearings, and appeals. In collaboration with lawyers in our White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Practice, we also provide expert guidance following catastrophic workplace incidents and fatalities to help companies manage the crisis and determine appropriate legal defenses with potential criminal penalties.
Employers regularly call upon us to proactively navigate their workplace safety and health obligations by conducting workplace audits, providing client-tailored employee training, and developing and instituting safety policies and programs.
