UOSH has authority to enforce workplace safety in Utah. It investigates accidents, issues citations for violations, and assesses penalties. During an investigation, employers should cooperate, preserve evidence, and be prepared with documentation of safety programs and training. Citations can be contested, and informal conferences provide an opportunity to settle or reduce penalties. Maintaining strong safety programs and documentation is important before and after any workplace accidents or inspections.

1. Utah OSHA: Workplace Accidents,
Investigations & Citations
Michael A. Zody

2. UOSH Authority
 Federal OSHA Law Allows for States to Enforce
 Utah is “State Plan” State = Utah OSHA (UOSH)
is in the lead
 Utah Occupational Safety and Health Act, 34A-
6-101, et seq.
 Utah Regulations at R614, Occupational Safety
and Health
– General provisions and industry specific provisions
– Incorporated federal standards

3. UOSH Statute
 General Duty Clause, 34A-6-201
– “furnish [employment]…free from recognized
hazards that are causing or likely to cause
death or physical harm …and comply with [all
applicable OSHA laws].”
 Investigations, 34A-6-301
 Citation and Enforcement, 34A-6-302, 303
 Penalties, 34A-6-307

4. Investigation Authority
 34A-6-301
– can enter workplace at “reasonable times”
and investigate, review records, etc….
– if employer refuses, can get subpoena
 R614-1-7
– Provides more detail on inspection process
and rights / obligations of employer

5. Citations and Penalties
 Types and Penalties
– “Other” (than serious), up to $7,000 (usually $500)
– “Serious”: employer knowledge of condition and
substantial possibility condition could result in death
or serious physical harm
• $250 to $5,000
– “Willful”
• $5,000 to $70,000
– “Repeat”
• Up to $70,000
– “Failure to abate or to post”, up to $7,000

6. UOSH Investigators
 Division Director (Louis M. Silva)
 Compliance Mgr (Eldon Tryon)
– 23 total inspectors (up from 19)
• 12 safety inspectors, reporting to Safety
Supervisor (Dan King)
• 11 Industrial Hygienists, reporting to Health
Supervisor (Holly Lawrence)
 UOSH looks to OSHA Field Operations
Manual (FOM) for guidance

7. Inspection Triggers
 Imminent hazard
 8 hour reporting
– Fatalities or disabling, serious or significant injuries
 Employee complaints
 7 day written reports (First Report, Form 122)
– Injuries resulting in medical treatment, loss of
consciousness, loss of work, restriction of work,
transfer to another job
 Programmed high-hazard inspections

8. Before the Accident
 Have a great safety program, of course
 Train and Inspect
 Document it
– Date of training/inspection, topics covered, who
participated
– Even tailgates and seemingly informal training
 Safety Committees
 Audits
– If you do audits, make sure you address action items
– UOSH can ask for audits, unaddressed action items =
willful violations

9. Accidents: What to Do?
 Obviously, priority one is emergency
medical treatment, safety for others
 Did it trigger 8 hour reporting?
– What is serious or significant?
– Consider erring on the side of reporting
• avoids having an unhappy UOSH inspector show
up after the fact, after an employee or other person
reports it
• avoids citation for failing to report and “piling on”
citations

10. Accidents: What to Do?
 Duty to preserve evidence
– “Tools, equipment, materials or other evidence that might
pertain to the cause of such accident [8 hour reporting]
shall not be removed or destroyed until so authorized by
the Labor Commission or one of its Compliance Officers.”
R614-1-5.C.2
 Remote work sites create difficult preservation
issues
 When making 8 hour report, confirm UOSH
expectations on preservation
– Photos of accident scene, the equipment, etc…, preserve
records, preserve equipment

11. Accidents: What to Do
 Affirmative obligation to investigate all
“work-related injuries” R614-1.C.3
 For 8 hour reported injuries, expect an
investigation and make sure safety files
are organized, ready for review
– 300 forms, safety policies, relevant training
records, etc….

12. Inspections
 Assign single point person to each
inspector, stay with inspector
– Ask for credentials and areas inspector will
cover
– Refer questions to the point person, who can
then provide information to inspector
– Employee representative can participate
– Cooperate but do not volunteer or bring up
matters not covered by the question

13. Inspections
 Fully document inspector’s investigation
– second person doing this, while point person
focuses on inspector
– log movements, documents provided
– photograph everything inspector photos
– if providing anything of substance in writing,
have legal counsel review beforehand
– create a “mirror image” file

14. Inspections
 Interviews (avoid retaliation or obstruction)
– Up to employees to agree to be interviewed
– Employees should ask for copies of
statements
– Company can be present for management
interviews
• Take extensive notes of those you attend
• Debrief those you do not attend immediately after if
possible, take notes, focus on what employee told
inspector

15. Inspections
 Preserve trade secrets, secure
confidentiality
 Documentation allows legal counsel to
assist during inspection, to understand
where inspector is going, likely citations
 Inspectors vary in experience and quality
– They can cite inapplicable standards

16. The Close-Out
 Inspector should identify likely citations
and evidence
– Take detailed notes
 Opportunity to provide clarification or
correct errors
 Limit participants, speak with one voice if
possible
– Avoid opening new areas of interest

17. The Close-Out
 Keep door open to providing follow-up
information if you think inspector is wrong,
or more information would defeat the
citation
– Ask to continue the close-out or have a
second close-out

18. The Citation
 Must be issued within 6 months of alleged
violation
 Cover letter and forms give relevant information
 Must abate all those you do not contest
 Contest letter must be received by UOSH by 30th
day
 Can request extension of abatement deadline
 Get legal counsel

19. The Informal Conference
 This is a settlement conference
 Does not delay 30 day contest deadline
 Ask for one and do your best to settle the
citations, no harm in doing so
– Be respectful, pick your team carefully, no hot-heads
 Be prepared to show why the citation,
classification and/or penalty amount is wrong

20. The Informal Conference
 Pontification about your outstanding safety
program, while okay and useful at times, is not
what UOSH is wanting
 UOSH wants to see modified behavior, such as
new policies, new training, etc….
 UOSH is generally willing to cut penalties by half
– Explore getting credit for safety related expenditures,
such as outside training services
 Getting “serious” citations downgraded to “other”
can be hard

21. Settlement Agreements
 UOSH has standard Informal Settlement
Agreement
 Have a lawyer review before you sign
 You typically are agreeing to the fact of at least
one citation, and it can form the basis of a repeat
citation
 UOSH will drop stock terms on occasion

24. Employee Misconduct Defense
 Employer is not liable where
– Has established safety-related work rules
– Adequately communicated the rules
– Took steps to discover non-compliance
– Effectively enforced the rule
 Tough defense to win, but it can be done
– Consistent enforcement of rules is key
– Supervisors cannot be looking the other way or let
people slide on safety rules
– Proof of internal inspections and follow-up helps

25. Hindsight is 20/20 Citation
 R614-1-5.D.3
– Management shall inspect or designate a
competent person or persons to inspect
frequently for unsafe conditions and practices,
defective equipment and materials and where
such conditions are found to take appropriate
corrective action immediately
– Who does your inspections, how often, what
proof do you have and can you show
corrective action?

26. Advance Notice of Inspections
 It is a crime to give “advance notice of any
inspection” 34A-6-307(5)(b)
 Big Branch Mine Indictment
– Alleges mine security guards were trained to,
and did, give warnings over an internal radio
channel upon arrival of MSHA inspectors