Breaking Rules Legally.

Are employers required to follow the rules 100% of the time? Absolutely – except when OSHA says they don’t have to.  It is possible to get variances from OSHA for several reasons: temporary, permanent, experimental, or national defense purposes. There are a few other reasons an employer can present to OSHA which are too complex to discuss here.  One of these is that, following the rule as written would create a condition more hazardous than an alternate method.

Several important considerations apply:

1. The variance must be applied for before the work and granted commences.

2. The conditions must provide a working environment “…as safe and healthful as those required by the standard from which a variance is sought:”

3. Employer is required to train the worker in a) that a variance has been used in meeting the rules of worker safety and b) the hazards they will now face and how to work protected from those hazards.

A company told me that they were only going to be on the roof for 15 minutes to take measurements. Rigging up fall protection would take as long as the work and add an expense that did not exist by not following the rules. They asked if they could just get up there, then get right back down.  My response was that I could not waive the rules, they need to make their case to OSHA. They replied that no worker had been hurt since they had been in business – See: No Trends in Safety below.

It is possible to get a variance (see 29 CFR 1905. 10, 11, 12), but specific conditions must be met. As always, the safety of the worker is the most important factor. It is always easier and cheaper to work safe, by the rules, than to make the call to the new widow or explain to the kids why mommy or daddy is not coming home tonight.

See our Web site: SafetyRich