OSHA tips

[Guest guest]

In the past few days, we've learned more about how to deal with OSHA

(maybe just our local branch, but possibly the entire organization)

than I ever thought I would! We've received some interesting

information from various sources that fit together to actually make

some sort of sense. I'd like to share this new insight, in hopes that

anyone reading it will start out more knowledgeable than we did!

Remember how I said that OSHA's findings when they inspected our

building said that they didn't see any dust on any surfaces? Well, it

finally became clear...they didn't inspect the BUILDING, they

inspected the IMMEDIATE WORK AREA. Despite the fact that the initial

complaint described the conditions of the building as a whole, and

OSHA was told that the problem was so widespread and variable that she

couldn't give a specific area for them to look at, when the inspector

came out, he went straight for the complainant's desk. It's no

surprise that he found it to be clean...she worked in a small area

with five small cubicles, and everyone who works in that area is so

disgusted with the filth that they clean their area themselves! (I

don't suppose the inspector noticed the broom and dustpan in the

corner)

So, Tip #1 is BE SPECIFIC, BECAUSE THEY ARE. If the problem isn't at

your desk, don't give them any reason to believe that it is, or they

will only look there. If there is more than one area in violation,

explain where each one is and what specifically they should be looking

for there. Saying that the whole building is generally filthy will

NOT get you any results!

Another thing we discovered is that within a couple of weeks (possibly

one week) of filing the complaint, OSHA will contact the person you

tell them is your supervisor. They will probably call to find out a

fax number, and then they will fax a form letter and a list of

" complaints " (which are seperate items taken from your complaint) that

your supervisor must respond to within five days, telling OSHA what

has or has not been done to take care of each violation.

For most of us who work in offices, our supervisors are not exactly

the people who have the power to do anything about the physical

environment of the office. OSHA's practices are geared towards

construction, factories, etc., and translate poorly to the corporate

world. Your supervisor may call the OSHA representative named on the

fax and ask them what to do...and the OSHA guy will tell them to give

the fax to someone in building management, since they are the ones

with the power to control the environment. If your situation is

anything like ours, THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! If building management

was willing or able to do anything about these violations, wouldn't

they have taken care of them already? If you've gone through proper

channels, you have most likely given those guys a chance to make

things right, and they've blown you off.

Tip #2 is MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHEN OSHA CONTACTS YOUR SUPERVISOR. Keep

in contact with him/her and, if possible, try to get them to help you

by keeping you informed. The woman who had to be moved to another

building for her health is no longer in regular contact with her

supervisor, so she had no idea that they had even faxed him the

complaints...nor did she know that he took OSHA's advice and sent them

along to facilities! When my own complaint went through the system,

and OSHA contacted *my* supervisor, she made sure I knew about it...in

fact, I helped her compose the answers to the complaint, because she

knew how we'd been getting screwed by them so far, and she wanted to

make sure we were doing as much good as possible. (I have a wonderful

boss! Unfortunately, she's a wonderful boss with very little power.)

Since OSHA also suggested that she forward the fax to facilities, we

thought she could go ahead and do that also, but this time their

repsonses would only be *supplemental* to hers.

So, Tip #3 is DON'T ALLOW OSHA TO LET BUILDING MANAGEMENT CONTROL THE

SITUATION! Just because it's recommended that those guys respond to

the complaints, it doesn't mean that your supervisor can't do the

same...then it's two levels of complaint against one level of excuses.

It may not be enough, but it's better than nothing!

Another thing that may seem strange is that the word " mold " sends up a

big red flag with these OSHA guys. Maybe it's the media attention

that mold is getting nowadays, but OSHA wants to assume that you're

just saying " mold " because you're hysterical and don't know what

you're talking about. In other words, if you haven't actually *seen*

mold, be careful about claiming that it's there. When we had an

" independent IAQ test " done in April (in quotes because it was

complete party-line BS), they tried to convince us that houseplants

were the problem, or rather that the wicker baskets were the most

likely place that mold might be...despite the fact that the baskets

had never been wet and when they were removed from the area, her

illness was there just the same. OSHA seemed to have the same

attitude when they inspected.

Tip #4 is DON'T CRY " MOLD " UNLESS YOU'RE SURE ABOUT IT. If you've

said the problem is mold and they don't find mold, your case is over.

Yes, mold is toxic and really unhealthy, but so is excessive dust,

formaldehyde from the outgassing of office furniture and carpeting,

high indoor temperatures, etc. Severe asthma and other lung problems

can be caused by constant exposure to high levels of common household

dust...if we'd realized that when the initial complaint was made, we

might not have pushed the mold angle quite so hard (although we knew

there was mold in the building, it wasn't located near her DESK, so

OSHA was never going to see it).

And finally, Tip #5...YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO OFFER A REBUTTAL TO

OSHA'S REPORT. The report doesn't say that you do, and neither does

any of the other OSHA information I've seen...but one good guy in the

OSHA office who happened to answer the phone told the complainant that

she could fax them a response to anything she found incorrect or

unacceptable on the report (and then he whispered " Good luck! " ).

Their two-page report was met with a five-page rebuttal...but now that

we know that the inspection was only done around her immediate work

area, they will be receiving an even longer rebuttal! ;o)

If I figure out anything else useful about the way OSHA does business,

I promise to let y'all know about it!