Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook Essay

Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook - Essay causaSection 9(a) of OSHA provides that all credit ratings should reasonably be issued promptly. The limitation period for issuing consultations is six months. Therefore, no citation can be vacated within the period unless the delay prejudiced the employer1. The employer has the burden of proving that the delay hindered his preparation and innovation of the defense. The second defense available to an employer is that the affected employees were not vulnerable to the condition cited (Schneid & Schumann, 2007). The Act requires that any citation must establish that either the employees were exposed to, or there was a potential for their exposure to the hap in question. Furthermore, the Act requires that either the employer be in control of the hazard or create it. On this latter requirement, the employer could argue that he was unaware of the condition or could not have known the very(prenominal) despite exercising due diligence 2.It could also suffice to argue that no hazardous condition prevails at the workplace. There is the assumption that a hazardous condition exists at the workplace if what is violated is a specification standard (e.g. a guardrail in all working surfaces above four feet). Therefore, OSHA must jump that there existed a hazardous condition to justify the citation (Schneid & Schumann, 2007). The level of risk must be significant, which means that the employer should know of the hazardous condition requiring protective equipment3. Therefore, the employer has to be a reasonable person conversant(predicate) with the industry and safety requirements. If OSHA does not prove this standard, the citation is bound to