National Demolition Association Convention: Allying with OHSA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is aware that its reputation with business owners and managers is often adversarial, according to the agency’s Paula White.

But White, who addressed attendees at a session of the 2007 National Demolition Association Convention, said a host of new programs and partnerships is changing the relationship OSHA has with the demolition industry and many other industry sectors.

Such programs have helped demolition contractors and others discover that “it’s not all enforcement” at OSHA, says White, who pointed out that the agency has entire divisions that are dedicated to education and technical assistance rather than compliance.

The National Demolition Association has been an early participant in OSHA’s Alliance Program, and association executive Michael Taylor has been pleased with the results. “The OSHA alliance has been incredibly successful,” said Taylor. “Our relationship with the agency has always been a positive one,” he added.

That statement was music to her ears, said White, who acknowledged that OSHA sometimes “has a reputation as a big, bad wolf.”

Through the Alliance, some 260 work place inspectors have received training about the specifics of demolition job sites, ideally cutting down on issuing citations that may not be reasonable or applicable.

At the same session, National Demolition Association officer Ray Passeno of Bierlein Cos. Inc., Midland, Mich., presented information prepared by Chicago-based attorney Mark A. Lies.

Lies urged contractors to make sure their site supervisors are thoroughly trained to understand both their obligations and their rights in the event of a visit from an OSHA inspector at a job site.

An essay written by Lies and distributed at the event was titled “Silence is Golden,” and served as a reminder that while supervisors should be cooperative and willing to accompany an inspector, there are limits to that politeness, including a limit on small talk.

Specifically, OSHA inspectors do not offer Miranda rights, so the words of an employee can in fact be used against an employer when citations are issued and in legal actions beyond that.

Passeno urged attendees to take advantage of legal counsel when they run into inspection difficulties. Lies, who specializes in OSHA law, can be reached at the offices of Seyfarth Shaw LLP at miles@seyfarthshaw.com.

The 2007 National Demolition Association Convention took place April 1-4 at The MGM Mirage in Las Vegas.