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OSHA Voluntary Self-Audit Policy

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a policy in July 2000 concerning how it interacts with an employer's voluntary self-audits. Employers are motivated to conduct internal evaluations not only to ensure worker health and safety, but because OSHA-issued citations for violations can be expensive.

  1. Description

    • OSHA's policy states that safety and health violations found and corrected by the employer's self-audit will not be used against them during an OSHA inspection. If OSHA finds additional violations, a voluntary self-audit program shows "evidence of good faith" and penalties will be reduced by 25 percent.

    Modifications

    • The final OSHA policy changed the definition of "self-audit" to include third parties hired by an employer to conduct an internal audit. This is beneficial to the employer because he may not have a properly trained occupational health professional on his staff.

    Federal Program Change

    • State level OSHA programs are encouraged, but not required to adopt this new federal policy concerning voluntary self-audits.

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