Information for
Employers
As an employer, you are responsible for the safety and health of your employees.
Under the Occupational Safety Health (OSH) Act, employers have the following responsibilities:
- Employers have the responsibility to provide a safe workplace.
- Employers MUST provide their workers with a workplace that does not have serious hazards and must follow all OSHA safety and health standards.
- Employers must find and correct safety and health problems.
- OSHA further requires that employers must first try to eliminate or reduce hazards by making feasible changes in working conditions rather than relying on personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, or earplugs. Switching to safer chemicals, enclosing processes to trap harmful fumes, or using ventilation systems to clean the air are examples of effective ways to eliminate or reduce risks.
We know that you care about your employees and want them to return home safe to their families. Small business employers may be particularly challenged in this area, unable to afford a full-time safety person or a professional safety consultant. However, relying on luck is a slippery slope especially as direct and indirect costs associated with employee injury and illness can severely cripple or destroy a small business. This is where OSHA on-site consultation can help.
OSHA on-site consultation is completely separate from the OSHA inspection effort. OSHA consultation provides safety and health services at no cost to businesses. OSHA consultants are able to point out issues that could be found in an OSHA enforcement inspection while providing you an opportunity to correct those deficiencies without fines or penalties. Consultants help identify which OSHA regulations apply to your business, identify corrective measures for hazards identified at your workplace, develop your overall safety and health program and provide relevant safety and health training for your employees. Working with OSHA consultation may potentially help you improve employee morale, safety culture, reduce rates of employee injury/illness and better manage your worker’s compensation costs.
Employers who request service through the consultation program receive several benefits, to include:
Obtain high quality safety and industrial hygiene services, on-site, for free
Eliminate workplace hazards and achieve compliance with OSHA Standards
Avoid OSHA citations and penalties
Strengthen their safety and health programs
Reduce workplace injuries and illnesses
Qualify for deferral or exemption from Programmed OSHA inspections (see SHARP)
In FY 2017, OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program conducted approximately 26,000 visits to small business workers covering over 1.1 million workers across the nation. Join the thousands of businesses that have benefited from these services. Request a consultation visit today!
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St. Thomas
VI EPSCoR Building
#2 John Brewers Bay
St. Thomas Campus
Phone: 1 340.693.1235 • Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
St. Croix
Research & Extension Building
10,000 Kingshill
St. Croix Campus
Phone: 1 340.692.4051 • Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
The University of the Virgin Islands is a learner-centered institution dedicated to the success of its students and committed to enhancing the lives of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean through excellent teaching, innovative research, and responsive community service. The UVI is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. In support of the University’s mission, the Safety in Paradise (SIP) program focuses on providing services to the business community.