Introduction to OSHA: Rights, Duties, and the Inspection Process
The legal foundation
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed in December 1970 and took effect on April 28, 1971, creating OSHA within the Department of Labor. Construction employers are governed mainly by 29 CFR Part 1926; general industry (Part 1910) applies only where no construction standard exists. OSHA's authority comes from two places: specific standards and the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1), which requires employers to furnish a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. A common trap: the General Duty Clause is used only when no specific standard covers the hazard, so "it's a general duty clause violation" is almost always the wrong answer if a numbered standard exists.
Employer duties and worker rights
Employers must provide a hazard-free workplace, supply required PPE at no cost to the worker, train employees in a language they understand, keep injury records, and post citations. Workers have the right to request an inspection, participate in the walkaround, review the OSHA 300 log, access exposure and medical records, and be protected from retaliation for exercising these rights.
Reporting and enforcement
A fatality must be reported within 8 hours; an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. OSHA prioritizes inspections as: (1) imminent danger, (2) fatality/catastrophe, (3) complaints and referrals, (4) programmed inspections, (5) follow-ups. Employers must post the OSHA 300A summary from February 1 to April 30 and keep logs five years. A citation may be contested within 15 working days - working days, not calendar days, is the classic distractor.
Rule of thumb
8 – 24 – 15: 8 hours for a death, 24 hours for hospitalization/amputation/eye loss, 15 working days to contest. Remember OSHA fines employers, never employees.