Going down the road of litigation isn’t always the right path to take when your organization is on the receiving end of an OSHA citation.

Your company has just been cited for a safety violation or workplace incident by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). What should you do now?

You have 15 days to respond and according to John Ho, the co-chair of the OSHA workplace safety practice at international law firm Cozen O’Connor, contesting an OSHA citation shouldn’t necessarily be your automatic response. There are many factors to consider when determining a course of action, he says, explaining that a decision should weigh issues that may have significantly greater liabilities than the actual OSHA penalties imposed.  

“Lawyers are expensive and usually you’re going to spend more money on litigation, even if you win,” Ho says. “To fight a $30,000 to $50,000 OSHA (fine) – the cost/benefit … Read more...