May 28, 2026 • 24 mins
Workplace safety and health law expert Felicia Watson joins Beth Milito, NFIB Vice President and Executive Director of the Small Business Legal Center, to explain how Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections work and what small business owners need to know to avoid costly penalties. They also discuss resources available to business owners to stay updated on the latest OSHA rule changes.
Resources:
- See NFIB’s new OSHA Inspection Guide to prepare your small business.
- View NFIB’s Legal Guide series for additional resources.
- Watch the webinar with Felicia on June 3, 2026, at 12 p.m. ET and catch up on past webinars.
If your small business has questions on legal or regulatory issues, you can reach us at info@NFIB.org.
Please rate, review, or like this podcast to support small business issues.
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SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
And so when you think about that, if your state
has particular safety-relateditems, that's a great time to
understand what those are andcheck with an OSHA lawyer that
can help you make sure thatyou're squared away and you've
got the plans that you need inplace.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
The Small Business Rundown is the official podcast
of the National Federation ofIndependent Business, the
member-driven voice of smallbusiness.
Every two weeks, a new episodeoffers resources for small
business owners and informationon relevant laws and
regulations.
NFIB and our members advocate tokeep U.S.
(00:35):
small businesses strong andindependent in Washington, D.C.,
all 50 states, and the nation'scourts.
SPEAKER_02 (00:43):
Welcome to the Small Business Rundown.
I'm Beth Molito, NFIB VicePresident of the Small Business
Legal Center.
On today's show, we're coveringthe latest employment law
updates with our special guest,Felicia Watson, senior counsel
at the law firm LittlerMendelssohn.
Felicia, it's great to have youon the podcast.
Thanks, Beth.
Really happy to participate.
Felicia has been a guest experton the NFIB Legal Center webinar
(01:07):
series and will be joining meagain for another live webinar
on June 3rd.
We're looking forward to that.
Felicia, can you start bytelling me about your experience
with labor and employment law?
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Yeah, sure.
So I started working at theNational Association of Home
Builders more than 20 years ago,where I did a variety of
different advocacy-relateditems, including developing
strategies for small businesses.
Most home builders are smallbusinesses.
So working on advocacy issuesthat affected them.
(01:38):
This included writing commentletters, developing strategies
for helping members respond tothese proposed regulations,
federal legislation, as well assometimes state legislation that
might affect small businesses.
And also my background included,you know, meeting with members
of Congress, participating inmeetings with agency personnel,
including OSHA and theDepartment of Labor, also the
(02:01):
U.S.
Trade Representative, Office ofManagement and Budget, OIRA, and
embassy officials.
So I have a pretty broad swathof advocacy-related activities,
which also includes, you know,working with DOL and
OSHA-related issues on behalf ofpeople that are being regulated
by these agencies with respectto workplace safety and health,
(02:23):
independent contractor, thattype of thing, silica heat
variety of issues.
Kind of run the gamut, really.
SPEAKER_02 (02:30):
Yeah, I know I joined you in some of those
meetings over at the Departmentof Labor and over at the White
House on some of those DOLinitiatives.
And I'm so happy that you arenow at Littler and we still get
to work together.
It's very exciting and fun.
So let's turn now to the topicat hand, the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration.
(02:50):
Can you tell us a little bitabout OSHA and how it impacts
small business?
SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
So the easy way to think about OSHA is, and we're
in DC, so it's all about theacronyms, but the good way to
think about OSHA is it's reallythe agency that's tasked with
administering the OccupationalSafety and Health Act of 1970.
So the agency, Congress passedlegislation, and the agency is
the organization that actuallydevelops the workplace safety
(03:16):
rules, standards, regulations toimplement the act to protect
workers.
That's really the goal of thatagency.
And so when you think of it fromthat perspective, it's always
going to affect businesses, butit's also going to affect
workers, employees of thesebusinesses.
And so that interaction issomething to be very mindful of
and to keep in mind when you asan employer are working on or
(03:39):
tracking regulations that mightbe coming.
It affects everybody in theUnited States.
It's not just large behemothemployers.
It also affects small employersas well.
You could have as few as fivepeople, but as long as you have
employees, you will be coveredby the requirements of the OSH
Act.
So that is something to keep inmind, regardless of your
business size.
(04:00):
And so I think that that issomething that people need to be
mindful of when regulations comeout or guidance documents come
out.
They need to at least do whatthey can to stay on top of
things, be aware.
Oftentimes that's whyorganizations like NFIB are
really good because they put outnotices, press releases, and
help their members figure outokay, how does this apply to me?
(04:22):
So that's something that isimportant.
SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
Thank you, Felicia.
So the bottom line is smallbusiness owners need to be aware
of their requirements to keep asafe workplace for their
employees.
And so there's no small businessexemption under OSHA.
SPEAKER_01 (04:37):
No, no, there isn't.
The only time there's anexemption is if you're a sole
proprietor and you have noemployees.
SPEAKER_02 (04:43):
Okay.
Pretty limited there.
You have employees, you'recovered by OSHA.
So let's talk a little bit aboutOSHA inspections.
And this is, I know, a scarytopic for small business owners.
How does this come about?
And are there steps that abusiness should take to prepare
for an OSHA inspection?
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
So it can be a scary approach because when you think
about it, you've got agovernment agency showing up on
your doorstep.
And despite the appearance ofthe government official, they're
not really there to help you.
Their goal is to identify arethere any workplace hazards?
Are employees' workingconditions that put them at risk
for health issues, safetyissues?
(05:21):
And so the best way thatemployers, large or small, can
prepare for an OSHA visit is tounderstand the process, right?
Don't be intimidated by it, butby the same token, don't just
sit back and be really calm andcasual about it.
You need to understand theprocess that OSHA inspector will
go through, why they're therefor the inspection.
(05:42):
That should be one of your firstquestions.
If OSHA shows up on yourdoorstep, what is the purpose of
their inspection?
Now keep in mind there's acouple of ways that they'll show
up.
They maybe have received acomplaint from an employee, or
it could be that there was anaccident that was reportable to
OSHA.
So let's just say somebody wasseriously hurt using a piece of
(06:05):
equipment on the work site.
And it all has to be related towork.
And so they were injuredsomehow, maybe they cut off the
tip of their finger using apiece of equipment.
That is something that isreportable to OSHA.
It's considered an amputation.
And so that is something thatthe agency takes very seriously.
So if you report something likethat, you can pretty much be
(06:27):
guaranteed that they are goingto show up.
The question is, when are theygoing to show up?
And so that is something to bemindful of.
If you do make a report, youshould anticipate that OSHA will
arrive.
So if it's an accident, it'sreported, anticipate that
they'll show up.
Did you, as the employer, reportit?
So something to keep in mindtoo.
Sometimes employers forget ordon't realize that they actually
(06:49):
have to report certaininstances, certain injuries or
illnesses that occur on theirworkplace.
So if they don't report it, butlet's say first responders show
up, they're mandatory reporters.
So the fire department shows upto take somebody away in the
ambulance or to provide morethan first aid, then you're
definitely going to have likelya reportable incident.
(07:11):
And so that is something to bemindful of is the timing on when
you do that.
There are specific requirementsthat you have to report within
certain periods of timedepending on the type of injury,
illness that occurs.
So employers need to understandthat.
Keep in mind too that OSHAdoesn't announce their
inspections.
They're not allowed to tell you,hey, we're coming out to do an
(07:31):
inspection.
They will not give advancenotice.
And so one of the things thatyou can do is really have a plan
in place before OSHA ever showsup.
And I can get into that in justa second.
And then the other thing is whenOSHA does show up, you want to
use the information that theygive you to narrow the scope.
Are they there because of anemployee complaint?
Employees will complain becausemaybe they feel like there's
(07:53):
something unsafe.
And so what is the purpose ofthe complaint?
Are there one element, twoelements, three areas that an
employee might have identified?
Find out what those are becausethat you can use as an employer
to narrow the scope of what theinspector is going to be looking
at.
They don't have carte blanche tocome in and get a tour of the
facility.
Don't ever give them a tour.
(08:15):
Try and narrow that scope sothat they are targeted and their
inspection is targeted.
So you understand what that is.
And you have the ability as anemployer to ask them why they
are there?
What are they looking at?
If it isn't as a result of acomplaint, you can definitely
ask them the nature of thecomplaint.
They're likely not going to tellyou who complained.
(08:36):
They don't have to disclosethat, but try and get as much
information about the complaintas you can.
Oftentimes you can ask them fora copy of it.
They're not going to give youconfidential information.
Keep in mind employees have theability to report anonymously or
to request that their name notbe disclosed.
And that's okay.
You still want to figure outwhat's the nature of the
(08:57):
complaint and how can youaddress it.
So those are some importantthings to think about just
preliminarily.
And then have a plan in placewhen they show up, right?
You want to know what you dobefore they get there.
Designate somebody to greet theinspector.
Identify who the staff personis, usually somebody from
management, who will beescorting the inspector through
the facility.
(09:18):
Remember, I said it's not atour.
You want to take them as closeto the area where they need to
inspect as possible.
You don't walk them all the waythrough the entire plant
because, and why is thisimportant?
Because if they're walking alongand they see something that's in
plain view that's a violation,you could be cited for that,
even though that's not whythey're there.
(09:40):
So it's kind of like the plainview doctrine, really.
If they see it, they can citeyou for it.
So that's why you don't want togive them a tour.
And that's not the purpose.
The purpose is they're there tolook at something specific.
Those are some things to keep inmind before OSHA shows up.
Have a plan in place and thenfollow it, designated somebody
to do it, to escort them, andthen take pictures.
(10:01):
If they take pictures, you takepictures from the same area.
They will anticipate that youare going to be doing that
because you're not always goingto get copies of the pictures
immediately after the OSHAinspector leaves.
So make sure that you understandwhat they're focusing on, take
notes.
If you can't do it yourself,have another employee accompany
you who can take the pictureswhile you're talking with the
(10:21):
inspector.
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
Felicia, are there any common mistakes you see
businesses make when dealingwith OSHA inspections?
So this might be after the factwhen you get the phone call, now
that you are representingbusinesses, without disclosing
any of your clients, obviously,but anything that you're like,
oh no, I can't believe that youXYZ fill in the blank.
SPEAKER_01 (10:41):
Sure.
So I think one of the biggestmistakes employers make, and
it's not intentional, uh, andit's not designed to hide
anything, I think they don't domaybe walkthroughs of their
businesses as often as theycould or should.
Treat it like a find and fixapproach, right?
So let's say you have anenvironmental, healthy, and
safety person on staff.
(11:02):
Now, not all businesses havethis, but designate someone to
do a walkthrough, someone whounderstands the regulations that
apply to your business and havethem do a walkthrough once a
week, maybe on Monday morning,and have a checklist.
If they see things that need tobe corrected, document that it's
been corrected immediately, orif you need to order a new part,
or maybe the lock on the backgate doesn't work, flag that,
(11:25):
get that corrected by a certaindate, those types of things.
Keep a checklist, demonstratethat you are being proactive
with your work site, becausethat shows that you're attentive
and you're not just ignoringthings that need to be
addressed.
Another mistake that employersmake and managers uh in
particular, they're trying to behelpful.
And so if the OSHA inspector isasking a series of questions and
(11:48):
then they stop talking becauseyou've answered their questions,
you stop talking.
Don't keep talking.
Just because the OSHA inspectoris quiet does not mean you need
to fill the void.
Because people get nervous withsilence, and it's understandable
because you've got thisgovernment official on your job
site doing an inspection.
And so people feel like theyneed to jump in and volunteer
(12:12):
things.
Don't do that.
That can be a mistake becauseyou could inadvertently say
something that you didn't meanto say, or it's taken out of
context because you in yourhead, your employee in their
head knows what they're tryingto say, but maybe because
they're nervous because thegovernment is there, they don't
say it properly, right?
So don't volunteer stuff.
(12:33):
I think that is something thatcan be very helpful and
important to keep in mind.
Just because the person is quietdoesn't mean you have to keep
talking.
SPEAKER_02 (12:41):
That's great advice, Felicia.
We'll be right back with morefrom Felicia on changes to OSHA
rules.
SPEAKER_00 (12:52):
If you're an NFIB member, don't miss your chance
to vote on the new NFIB memberballot.
If you haven't already voted,please log in today to tell us
your position on five keyfederal policy issues.
It only takes a few minutes tofill out your ballot and shape
how NFIB advocates for smallbusiness owners.
Go to NFIB.com slash vote myballot to tell us what's
(13:17):
important to your smallbusiness.
SPEAKER_02 (13:22):
So, Felicia, can you tell us about any changes that
might be coming down the roadfrom OSHA?
SPEAKER_01 (13:27):
You know what, that's an easy and a hard
question at the same time.
And the reason that's easy isbecause we know that the current
administration is focusing on aderegulatory approach.
They're trying to eliminateduplicate regulations,
regulations that have been inplace for a long time that
aren't doing anything.
It's not uncommon, regardless ofthe administration that comes
in, to do a look back, right?
(13:49):
They'll look back, they'll seewhat's already out there,
they'll look at guidancedocuments.
Is this stuff old?
Is it outdated?
Is it not serving its intendedpurpose?
Does it need to be updated?
Those are the types of thingsthat this administration is
looking at.
This administration is alsolooking at deregulatory efforts.
So there are some things thatthey're examining.
They put out a bunch of FederalRegister notices seeking
(14:12):
comments on streamliningrespiratory protection,
streamlining how certainchemicals are dealt with.
Actually, there were a number ofthem, I think 15-ish.
That comment period for all ofthose closed in November of
2025.
So the agency is working throughthose right now.
One item that is out there thatis still pending is the OSHA's
(14:33):
proposed heat rule on indoor andoutdoor workplaces, heat illness
and injury prevention in outdoorworkplaces.
And that is something that Ithink all employers, regardless
of whether or not you haveindoor workers or workers that
are outdoors or both, you needto pay attention to for a couple
of reasons.
One, Federal OSHA has felt thatthis is something that's very
(14:54):
important.
They've talked about this for anumber of years.
There are a lot of requirementsin there.
You have to have a written heatplan, you have to have lots of
training, 16 different topics.
If you're over a certain size,and this kind of hits the small
business impact, if you have 11or more employees, you have to
have a plan in writing, and youhave to have an identified by
name heat safety coordinator.
(15:15):
If you have 10 or feweremployees, you don't have to
have it written, and you don'thave to designate who the heat
safety coordinator is.
But that raises the question,how are you going to demonstrate
that you're in compliance if youdon't have something in writing?
Right?
That's a double-edged sword.
Oh, great, I don't have to havea written plan, but wait a
minute, how am I going to showthat I've trained my employees
and they know what to do?
And here it is.
(15:37):
So that's one of those things Ithink for small businesses to
keep in mind.
And while Federal OSHA doesn'thave, they haven't put out a
final rule yet, they've got morethan 24,000 comments in the
regulatory docket to look at.
So that's going to take them alittle bit to weigh through, but
you should pay attention to thatbecause even though there's no
federal regulation, they do havea national emphasis program on
(15:57):
heat, which has a lot of thesame types of things that were
in the proposed rule.
So an ocean inspector is goingto go out on your job site as we
head into April.
And as temperatures are risingaround the country because it's
getting into that spring andsummer season, what kind of
procedures do you have in placefor employees?
Have you trained them onrecognizing heat illness?
(16:18):
Do you have procedures in placefor them to have water rest
shade, rest breaks when theyneed it?
Do they know how to recognizethese things?
So even though there's nofederal rule, you still have to
pay, be mindful of this becauseas an employer, you have to
provide a safe workplace.
The other element of this is notjust what the feds are doing,
(16:38):
but also what is happening atthe state level.
So you have several states thathave issued proposed
legislations at the state level.
So statutes, not regulations.
And so they're not waiting forfederal OSHA.
You've got Rhode Island thatjust had hearings yesterday to
talk about their extreme heatand extreme cold proposed state
legislation.
And then you've got Coloradothat's introduced something
(16:59):
similar.
You've got Virginia that hasjust passed the Senate and the
House, and that is waiting forthe governor to sign
legislation.
Now, Virginia is a state planstate.
That means that OSHA hasapproved their state plan, but
they didn't run this through theregulatory process.
They ran this through the statelegislature.
So we'll have to see how thatwill play out.
(17:20):
But for small businessesparticularly, you need to pay
attention to what's going on inyour state because maybe federal
OSHA hasn't done something yet,but your own state may have.
There are, I think, seven ornine states that already have
their own form of heatregulations in place.
So understand those, understandhow those apply to you.
And if nothing is in your state,do pay attention to OSHA's
(17:42):
national emphasis program.
There's also a lot of reallygood guidance documents on
OSHA's website, depending onwhat your industry is in.
And so while the deregulatoryefforts focus on everybody
thinks regulations, it alsotargets guidance documents that
need to be improved or updated.
So some of those may bewithdrawn.
Letters of interpretation areanother way to get a good idea
(18:04):
of what OSHA is looking at.
And this administration hasemphasized that they're willing
to and interested in gettingletters of interpretation out to
help regulated industries.
So that might be another avenuefor people to engage with the
agency and get more informationto help them in their
businesses.
SPEAKER_02 (18:20):
So speaking of helping businesses, this is a
great time to turn and talk alittle bit about resources for
small business owners, includingwhen a business should contact
an attorney for assistance withan OSHA issue.
Any thoughts on that, Felicia?
SPEAKER_01 (18:36):
I would say you don't always have to wait to be
contacted by OSHA to reach outto an OSHA attorney.
And I say that because sometimesit's helpful to make sure that
your policies and proceduresdealing with OSHA and
inspections and safety are up topar.
And I say that you've gotseveral states, as I mentioned
earlier, that have their ownstate plans: California,
Washington, Nevada, Maryland,where they have certain
(18:59):
requirements that you have tohave in place.
Nevada, for example, requiresyou to have a written safety
plan.
Washington state requires allemployers to have an accident
prevention plan.
And so when you think aboutthat, if your state has
particular safety-related items,that's a great time to
understand what those are andcheck with an OSHA lawyer that
can help you make sure thatyou're squared away and you've
(19:20):
got the plans that you need inplace.
Now, that said, when OSHA showsup, understand what the
inspection is.
You don't always have to have anOSHA lawyer out with you when
they do the inspection.
If it's a serious incident oryou had a fatality, I would
recommend or suggest that thatwould be the time that you would
want an OSHA attorney to bethere when they do the
(19:41):
inspection.
Because if nothing else, theycan help ensure that the OSHA
inspector focuses on the scopeof the inspection, that they
don't impermissibly expand thescope, and that they help the
employer understand next steps,what's going to happen after the
inspection is done, how tohandle document requests.
That is something that alwayscomes up following an OSHA
(20:02):
inspection, is they will givethe employer a list of documents
that they would like copies of.
Well, so they ask for a copy ofyour lockout tag out plan, and
that's built into your safetyplan.
Well, do you give them all 200pages of your safety plan, or do
you just give them the lockouttag out portion, right?
That's where a safety lawyer, anOSHA lawyer, can actually help
(20:23):
you navigate.
You don't give them more thanthey asked for, but you also
want to be responsive and givethem the documents that they
have requested.
You also need to make sure thatyour OSHA logs are up to date,
your 300 log, your 300A, whichis the summary of the accidents.
The 300 lists all the accidentsthat might or reportable
injuries or illnesses that mighthave occurred on the job site.
(20:46):
You may not have any for theyears that the OSHA inspector
asked for, but you do need tohave those logs ready to go in
case they do request some.
Usually they'll go back three tofive years.
And oftentimes what I'm seeingnow with clients is they're
asking for current 2026 up todate.
So from January to whatever thedate that they make their
(21:07):
document request, they wantthose lists too.
And so an OSHA lawyer can helpyou navigate those document
requests and ensure that you areresponding, but you're not
giving them more than they askedfor.
And then also keep in mind thatany OSHA inspection, any
document requests are subject tothe Freedom of Information Act.
(21:28):
And so an OSHA lawyer can helpmake sure that you mark those as
confidential business or tradesecrets so that not just anyone
can request a copy of your ownbusiness documents, your trade
secrets, that type of thing.
So a couple of different ways,proactive and reactive.
We always like the proactiveapproach because we can help
(21:48):
employers get ready in casesomething happens, but also help
them with compliance.
I think that's something that'sreally important is making sure
that we can work with employersso that they're Plans are
compliant, their companies arecompliant.
Nobody wants to have an employeeinjured, right?
That doesn't help anybody.
It doesn't help the employer.
It doesn't help the business.
(22:09):
The employees affected, maybenot only the employee, but their
family.
Everybody wants to have everyonego home at the end of the day.
And I think sometimes having anOSHA lawyer that can come in and
work with you and help you withyour compliance can really
improve your business as awhole.
So you don't have these risks.
I think that is something that'sthat could be really important.
So don't wait till it's bad.
SPEAKER_02 (22:30):
Right.
That's great information andgreat advice.
And I'm looking forward todigging into this a lot more
with you on our June 3rdwebinar, Felicia.
Thank you so much.
I think we're going to drop someof these resources that you
mentioned in our show notestoday, too.
And I want to point out thatNFIB has also been tracking the
proposed federal OSHA heatstandard very closely.
(22:51):
And we can drop more informationabout that in our show notes.
And we actually just did apodcast on that very topic, too.
So very glad that you mentionedthat today, Felicia.
Before we go, is there anythingelse you'd like to add?
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
You know, I think one thing that is important for
employers to consider, becausethere's so many different
aspects to running a business,right?
You've got all of the staterequirements, you've got all the
federal requirements that kindof overlay that.
Sometimes there might beconflicts between policies or
regulations.
And I think one thing that'simportant to be mindful of, even
(23:27):
if you're a small business butyou're operating in a couple of
different states, take the moststringent requirements and try
and work towards those so thatthere's no gaps in what you
have.
And again, an OSHA safety lawyercan help with those questions.
So just some things to thinkabout.
That's great.
Thank you, Felicia, for joiningus today.
(23:48):
Thank you so much for theinvitation.
I enjoyed it, Beth.
SPEAKER_02 (23:51):
This episode's show notes include a link to the NFIB
Small Business Legal Center'snew printable OSHA legal guide,
which includes some helpfulresources for small business
owners.
You can also find a link to theNFIB Small Business Legal
Center's webinar series, wherewe'll host Felicia for an
OSHA-focused webinar on June3rd.
That's available at nfib.comslash webinars.
(24:14):
If your small business hasquestions on legal or regulatory
issues, you can also reach outto us by emailing info at
nfib.org.
SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of
the Small Business Rundown.
Your continued support helps usamplify the issues that matter
most.
If you like this episode, pleasehelp small business owners find
the podcast by giving it arating, like, or review.
You can find us at nfib.com andon YouTube, X, LinkedIn,
(24:44):
Instagram, and Facebook.
And so when you think about that, if your state
has particular safety-relateditems, that's a great time to
understand what those are andcheck with an OSHA lawyer that
can help you make sure thatyou're squared away and you've
got the plans that you need inplace.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
The Small Business Rundown is the official podcast
of the National Federation ofIndependent Business, the
member-driven voice of smallbusiness.
Every two weeks, a new episodeoffers resources for small
business owners and informationon relevant laws and
regulations.
NFIB and our members advocate tokeep U.S.
(00:35):
small businesses strong andindependent in Washington, D.C.,
all 50 states, and the nation'scourts.
SPEAKER_02 (00:43):
Welcome to the Small Business Rundown.
I'm Beth Molito, NFIB VicePresident of the Small Business
Legal Center.
On today's show, we're coveringthe latest employment law
updates with our special guest,Felicia Watson, senior counsel
at the law firm LittlerMendelssohn.
Felicia, it's great to have youon the podcast.
Thanks, Beth.
Really happy to participate.
Felicia has been a guest experton the NFIB Legal Center webinar
(01:07):
series and will be joining meagain for another live webinar
on June 3rd.
We're looking forward to that.
Felicia, can you start bytelling me about your experience
with labor and employment law?
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Yeah, sure.
So I started working at theNational Association of Home
Builders more than 20 years ago,where I did a variety of
different advocacy-relateditems, including developing
strategies for small businesses.
Most home builders are smallbusinesses.
So working on advocacy issuesthat affected them.
(01:38):
This included writing commentletters, developing strategies
for helping members respond tothese proposed regulations,
federal legislation, as well assometimes state legislation that
might affect small businesses.
And also my background included,you know, meeting with members
of Congress, participating inmeetings with agency personnel,
including OSHA and theDepartment of Labor, also the
(02:01):
U.S.
Trade Representative, Office ofManagement and Budget, OIRA, and
embassy officials.
So I have a pretty broad swathof advocacy-related activities,
which also includes, you know,working with DOL and
OSHA-related issues on behalf ofpeople that are being regulated
by these agencies with respectto workplace safety and health,
(02:23):
independent contractor, thattype of thing, silica heat
variety of issues.
Kind of run the gamut, really.
SPEAKER_02 (02:30):
Yeah, I know I joined you in some of those
meetings over at the Departmentof Labor and over at the White
House on some of those DOLinitiatives.
And I'm so happy that you arenow at Littler and we still get
to work together.
It's very exciting and fun.
So let's turn now to the topicat hand, the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration.
(02:50):
Can you tell us a little bitabout OSHA and how it impacts
small business?
SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
So the easy way to think about OSHA is, and we're
in DC, so it's all about theacronyms, but the good way to
think about OSHA is it's reallythe agency that's tasked with
administering the OccupationalSafety and Health Act of 1970.
So the agency, Congress passedlegislation, and the agency is
the organization that actuallydevelops the workplace safety
(03:16):
rules, standards, regulations toimplement the act to protect
workers.
That's really the goal of thatagency.
And so when you think of it fromthat perspective, it's always
going to affect businesses, butit's also going to affect
workers, employees of thesebusinesses.
And so that interaction issomething to be very mindful of
and to keep in mind when you asan employer are working on or
(03:39):
tracking regulations that mightbe coming.
It affects everybody in theUnited States.
It's not just large behemothemployers.
It also affects small employersas well.
You could have as few as fivepeople, but as long as you have
employees, you will be coveredby the requirements of the OSH
Act.
So that is something to keep inmind, regardless of your
business size.
(04:00):
And so I think that that issomething that people need to be
mindful of when regulations comeout or guidance documents come
out.
They need to at least do whatthey can to stay on top of
things, be aware.
Oftentimes that's whyorganizations like NFIB are
really good because they put outnotices, press releases, and
help their members figure outokay, how does this apply to me?
(04:22):
So that's something that isimportant.
SPEAKER_02 (04:24):
Thank you, Felicia.
So the bottom line is smallbusiness owners need to be aware
of their requirements to keep asafe workplace for their
employees.
And so there's no small businessexemption under OSHA.
SPEAKER_01 (04:37):
No, no, there isn't.
The only time there's anexemption is if you're a sole
proprietor and you have noemployees.
SPEAKER_02 (04:43):
Okay.
Pretty limited there.
You have employees, you'recovered by OSHA.
So let's talk a little bit aboutOSHA inspections.
And this is, I know, a scarytopic for small business owners.
How does this come about?
And are there steps that abusiness should take to prepare
for an OSHA inspection?
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
So it can be a scary approach because when you think
about it, you've got agovernment agency showing up on
your doorstep.
And despite the appearance ofthe government official, they're
not really there to help you.
Their goal is to identify arethere any workplace hazards?
Are employees' workingconditions that put them at risk
for health issues, safetyissues?
(05:21):
And so the best way thatemployers, large or small, can
prepare for an OSHA visit is tounderstand the process, right?
Don't be intimidated by it, butby the same token, don't just
sit back and be really calm andcasual about it.
You need to understand theprocess that OSHA inspector will
go through, why they're therefor the inspection.
(05:42):
That should be one of your firstquestions.
If OSHA shows up on yourdoorstep, what is the purpose of
their inspection?
Now keep in mind there's acouple of ways that they'll show
up.
They maybe have received acomplaint from an employee, or
it could be that there was anaccident that was reportable to
OSHA.
So let's just say somebody wasseriously hurt using a piece of
(06:05):
equipment on the work site.
And it all has to be related towork.
And so they were injuredsomehow, maybe they cut off the
tip of their finger using apiece of equipment.
That is something that isreportable to OSHA.
It's considered an amputation.
And so that is something thatthe agency takes very seriously.
So if you report something likethat, you can pretty much be
(06:27):
guaranteed that they are goingto show up.
The question is, when are theygoing to show up?
And so that is something to bemindful of.
If you do make a report, youshould anticipate that OSHA will
arrive.
So if it's an accident, it'sreported, anticipate that
they'll show up.
Did you, as the employer, reportit?
So something to keep in mindtoo.
Sometimes employers forget ordon't realize that they actually
(06:49):
have to report certaininstances, certain injuries or
illnesses that occur on theirworkplace.
So if they don't report it, butlet's say first responders show
up, they're mandatory reporters.
So the fire department shows upto take somebody away in the
ambulance or to provide morethan first aid, then you're
definitely going to have likelya reportable incident.
(07:11):
And so that is something to bemindful of is the timing on when
you do that.
There are specific requirementsthat you have to report within
certain periods of timedepending on the type of injury,
illness that occurs.
So employers need to understandthat.
Keep in mind too that OSHAdoesn't announce their
inspections.
They're not allowed to tell you,hey, we're coming out to do an
(07:31):
inspection.
They will not give advancenotice.
And so one of the things thatyou can do is really have a plan
in place before OSHA ever showsup.
And I can get into that in justa second.
And then the other thing is whenOSHA does show up, you want to
use the information that theygive you to narrow the scope.
Are they there because of anemployee complaint?
Employees will complain becausemaybe they feel like there's
(07:53):
something unsafe.
And so what is the purpose ofthe complaint?
Are there one element, twoelements, three areas that an
employee might have identified?
Find out what those are becausethat you can use as an employer
to narrow the scope of what theinspector is going to be looking
at.
They don't have carte blanche tocome in and get a tour of the
facility.
Don't ever give them a tour.
(08:15):
Try and narrow that scope sothat they are targeted and their
inspection is targeted.
So you understand what that is.
And you have the ability as anemployer to ask them why they
are there?
What are they looking at?
If it isn't as a result of acomplaint, you can definitely
ask them the nature of thecomplaint.
They're likely not going to tellyou who complained.
(08:36):
They don't have to disclosethat, but try and get as much
information about the complaintas you can.
Oftentimes you can ask them fora copy of it.
They're not going to give youconfidential information.
Keep in mind employees have theability to report anonymously or
to request that their name notbe disclosed.
And that's okay.
You still want to figure outwhat's the nature of the
(08:57):
complaint and how can youaddress it.
So those are some importantthings to think about just
preliminarily.
And then have a plan in placewhen they show up, right?
You want to know what you dobefore they get there.
Designate somebody to greet theinspector.
Identify who the staff personis, usually somebody from
management, who will beescorting the inspector through
the facility.
(09:18):
Remember, I said it's not atour.
You want to take them as closeto the area where they need to
inspect as possible.
You don't walk them all the waythrough the entire plant
because, and why is thisimportant?
Because if they're walking alongand they see something that's in
plain view that's a violation,you could be cited for that,
even though that's not whythey're there.
(09:40):
So it's kind of like the plainview doctrine, really.
If they see it, they can citeyou for it.
So that's why you don't want togive them a tour.
And that's not the purpose.
The purpose is they're there tolook at something specific.
Those are some things to keep inmind before OSHA shows up.
Have a plan in place and thenfollow it, designated somebody
to do it, to escort them, andthen take pictures.
(10:01):
If they take pictures, you takepictures from the same area.
They will anticipate that youare going to be doing that
because you're not always goingto get copies of the pictures
immediately after the OSHAinspector leaves.
So make sure that you understandwhat they're focusing on, take
notes.
If you can't do it yourself,have another employee accompany
you who can take the pictureswhile you're talking with the
(10:21):
inspector.
SPEAKER_02 (10:22):
Felicia, are there any common mistakes you see
businesses make when dealingwith OSHA inspections?
So this might be after the factwhen you get the phone call, now
that you are representingbusinesses, without disclosing
any of your clients, obviously,but anything that you're like,
oh no, I can't believe that youXYZ fill in the blank.
SPEAKER_01 (10:41):
Sure.
So I think one of the biggestmistakes employers make, and
it's not intentional, uh, andit's not designed to hide
anything, I think they don't domaybe walkthroughs of their
businesses as often as theycould or should.
Treat it like a find and fixapproach, right?
So let's say you have anenvironmental, healthy, and
safety person on staff.
(11:02):
Now, not all businesses havethis, but designate someone to
do a walkthrough, someone whounderstands the regulations that
apply to your business and havethem do a walkthrough once a
week, maybe on Monday morning,and have a checklist.
If they see things that need tobe corrected, document that it's
been corrected immediately, orif you need to order a new part,
or maybe the lock on the backgate doesn't work, flag that,
(11:25):
get that corrected by a certaindate, those types of things.
Keep a checklist, demonstratethat you are being proactive
with your work site, becausethat shows that you're attentive
and you're not just ignoringthings that need to be
addressed.
Another mistake that employersmake and managers uh in
particular, they're trying to behelpful.
And so if the OSHA inspector isasking a series of questions and
(11:48):
then they stop talking becauseyou've answered their questions,
you stop talking.
Don't keep talking.
Just because the OSHA inspectoris quiet does not mean you need
to fill the void.
Because people get nervous withsilence, and it's understandable
because you've got thisgovernment official on your job
site doing an inspection.
And so people feel like theyneed to jump in and volunteer
(12:12):
things.
Don't do that.
That can be a mistake becauseyou could inadvertently say
something that you didn't meanto say, or it's taken out of
context because you in yourhead, your employee in their
head knows what they're tryingto say, but maybe because
they're nervous because thegovernment is there, they don't
say it properly, right?
So don't volunteer stuff.
(12:33):
I think that is something thatcan be very helpful and
important to keep in mind.
Just because the person is quietdoesn't mean you have to keep
talking.
SPEAKER_02 (12:41):
That's great advice, Felicia.
We'll be right back with morefrom Felicia on changes to OSHA
rules.
SPEAKER_00 (12:52):
If you're an NFIB member, don't miss your chance
to vote on the new NFIB memberballot.
If you haven't already voted,please log in today to tell us
your position on five keyfederal policy issues.
It only takes a few minutes tofill out your ballot and shape
how NFIB advocates for smallbusiness owners.
Go to NFIB.com slash vote myballot to tell us what's
(13:17):
important to your smallbusiness.
SPEAKER_02 (13:22):
So, Felicia, can you tell us about any changes that
might be coming down the roadfrom OSHA?
SPEAKER_01 (13:27):
You know what, that's an easy and a hard
question at the same time.
And the reason that's easy isbecause we know that the current
administration is focusing on aderegulatory approach.
They're trying to eliminateduplicate regulations,
regulations that have been inplace for a long time that
aren't doing anything.
It's not uncommon, regardless ofthe administration that comes
in, to do a look back, right?
(13:49):
They'll look back, they'll seewhat's already out there,
they'll look at guidancedocuments.
Is this stuff old?
Is it outdated?
Is it not serving its intendedpurpose?
Does it need to be updated?
Those are the types of thingsthat this administration is
looking at.
This administration is alsolooking at deregulatory efforts.
So there are some things thatthey're examining.
They put out a bunch of FederalRegister notices seeking
(14:12):
comments on streamliningrespiratory protection,
streamlining how certainchemicals are dealt with.
Actually, there were a number ofthem, I think 15-ish.
That comment period for all ofthose closed in November of
2025.
So the agency is working throughthose right now.
One item that is out there thatis still pending is the OSHA's
(14:33):
proposed heat rule on indoor andoutdoor workplaces, heat illness
and injury prevention in outdoorworkplaces.
And that is something that Ithink all employers, regardless
of whether or not you haveindoor workers or workers that
are outdoors or both, you needto pay attention to for a couple
of reasons.
One, Federal OSHA has felt thatthis is something that's very
(14:54):
important.
They've talked about this for anumber of years.
There are a lot of requirementsin there.
You have to have a written heatplan, you have to have lots of
training, 16 different topics.
If you're over a certain size,and this kind of hits the small
business impact, if you have 11or more employees, you have to
have a plan in writing, and youhave to have an identified by
name heat safety coordinator.
(15:15):
If you have 10 or feweremployees, you don't have to
have it written, and you don'thave to designate who the heat
safety coordinator is.
But that raises the question,how are you going to demonstrate
that you're in compliance if youdon't have something in writing?
Right?
That's a double-edged sword.
Oh, great, I don't have to havea written plan, but wait a
minute, how am I going to showthat I've trained my employees
and they know what to do?
And here it is.
(15:37):
So that's one of those things Ithink for small businesses to
keep in mind.
And while Federal OSHA doesn'thave, they haven't put out a
final rule yet, they've got morethan 24,000 comments in the
regulatory docket to look at.
So that's going to take them alittle bit to weigh through, but
you should pay attention to thatbecause even though there's no
federal regulation, they do havea national emphasis program on
(15:57):
heat, which has a lot of thesame types of things that were
in the proposed rule.
So an ocean inspector is goingto go out on your job site as we
head into April.
And as temperatures are risingaround the country because it's
getting into that spring andsummer season, what kind of
procedures do you have in placefor employees?
Have you trained them onrecognizing heat illness?
(16:18):
Do you have procedures in placefor them to have water rest
shade, rest breaks when theyneed it?
Do they know how to recognizethese things?
So even though there's nofederal rule, you still have to
pay, be mindful of this becauseas an employer, you have to
provide a safe workplace.
The other element of this is notjust what the feds are doing,
(16:38):
but also what is happening atthe state level.
So you have several states thathave issued proposed
legislations at the state level.
So statutes, not regulations.
And so they're not waiting forfederal OSHA.
You've got Rhode Island thatjust had hearings yesterday to
talk about their extreme heatand extreme cold proposed state
legislation.
And then you've got Coloradothat's introduced something
(16:59):
similar.
You've got Virginia that hasjust passed the Senate and the
House, and that is waiting forthe governor to sign
legislation.
Now, Virginia is a state planstate.
That means that OSHA hasapproved their state plan, but
they didn't run this through theregulatory process.
They ran this through the statelegislature.
So we'll have to see how thatwill play out.
(17:20):
But for small businessesparticularly, you need to pay
attention to what's going on inyour state because maybe federal
OSHA hasn't done something yet,but your own state may have.
There are, I think, seven ornine states that already have
their own form of heatregulations in place.
So understand those, understandhow those apply to you.
And if nothing is in your state,do pay attention to OSHA's
(17:42):
national emphasis program.
There's also a lot of reallygood guidance documents on
OSHA's website, depending onwhat your industry is in.
And so while the deregulatoryefforts focus on everybody
thinks regulations, it alsotargets guidance documents that
need to be improved or updated.
So some of those may bewithdrawn.
Letters of interpretation areanother way to get a good idea
(18:04):
of what OSHA is looking at.
And this administration hasemphasized that they're willing
to and interested in gettingletters of interpretation out to
help regulated industries.
So that might be another avenuefor people to engage with the
agency and get more informationto help them in their
businesses.
SPEAKER_02 (18:20):
So speaking of helping businesses, this is a
great time to turn and talk alittle bit about resources for
small business owners, includingwhen a business should contact
an attorney for assistance withan OSHA issue.
Any thoughts on that, Felicia?
SPEAKER_01 (18:36):
I would say you don't always have to wait to be
contacted by OSHA to reach outto an OSHA attorney.
And I say that because sometimesit's helpful to make sure that
your policies and proceduresdealing with OSHA and
inspections and safety are up topar.
And I say that you've gotseveral states, as I mentioned
earlier, that have their ownstate plans: California,
Washington, Nevada, Maryland,where they have certain
(18:59):
requirements that you have tohave in place.
Nevada, for example, requiresyou to have a written safety
plan.
Washington state requires allemployers to have an accident
prevention plan.
And so when you think aboutthat, if your state has
particular safety-related items,that's a great time to
understand what those are andcheck with an OSHA lawyer that
can help you make sure thatyou're squared away and you've
(19:20):
got the plans that you need inplace.
Now, that said, when OSHA showsup, understand what the
inspection is.
You don't always have to have anOSHA lawyer out with you when
they do the inspection.
If it's a serious incident oryou had a fatality, I would
recommend or suggest that thatwould be the time that you would
want an OSHA attorney to bethere when they do the
(19:41):
inspection.
Because if nothing else, theycan help ensure that the OSHA
inspector focuses on the scopeof the inspection, that they
don't impermissibly expand thescope, and that they help the
employer understand next steps,what's going to happen after the
inspection is done, how tohandle document requests.
That is something that alwayscomes up following an OSHA
(20:02):
inspection, is they will givethe employer a list of documents
that they would like copies of.
Well, so they ask for a copy ofyour lockout tag out plan, and
that's built into your safetyplan.
Well, do you give them all 200pages of your safety plan, or do
you just give them the lockouttag out portion, right?
That's where a safety lawyer, anOSHA lawyer, can actually help
(20:23):
you navigate.
You don't give them more thanthey asked for, but you also
want to be responsive and givethem the documents that they
have requested.
You also need to make sure thatyour OSHA logs are up to date,
your 300 log, your 300A, whichis the summary of the accidents.
The 300 lists all the accidentsthat might or reportable
injuries or illnesses that mighthave occurred on the job site.
(20:46):
You may not have any for theyears that the OSHA inspector
asked for, but you do need tohave those logs ready to go in
case they do request some.
Usually they'll go back three tofive years.
And oftentimes what I'm seeingnow with clients is they're
asking for current 2026 up todate.
So from January to whatever thedate that they make their
(21:07):
document request, they wantthose lists too.
And so an OSHA lawyer can helpyou navigate those document
requests and ensure that you areresponding, but you're not
giving them more than they askedfor.
And then also keep in mind thatany OSHA inspection, any
document requests are subject tothe Freedom of Information Act.
(21:28):
And so an OSHA lawyer can helpmake sure that you mark those as
confidential business or tradesecrets so that not just anyone
can request a copy of your ownbusiness documents, your trade
secrets, that type of thing.
So a couple of different ways,proactive and reactive.
We always like the proactiveapproach because we can help
(21:48):
employers get ready in casesomething happens, but also help
them with compliance.
I think that's something that'sreally important is making sure
that we can work with employersso that they're Plans are
compliant, their companies arecompliant.
Nobody wants to have an employeeinjured, right?
That doesn't help anybody.
It doesn't help the employer.
It doesn't help the business.
(22:09):
The employees affected, maybenot only the employee, but their
family.
Everybody wants to have everyonego home at the end of the day.
And I think sometimes having anOSHA lawyer that can come in and
work with you and help you withyour compliance can really
improve your business as awhole.
So you don't have these risks.
I think that is something that'sthat could be really important.
So don't wait till it's bad.
SPEAKER_02 (22:30):
Right.
That's great information andgreat advice.
And I'm looking forward todigging into this a lot more
with you on our June 3rdwebinar, Felicia.
Thank you so much.
I think we're going to drop someof these resources that you
mentioned in our show notestoday, too.
And I want to point out thatNFIB has also been tracking the
proposed federal OSHA heatstandard very closely.
(22:51):
And we can drop more informationabout that in our show notes.
And we actually just did apodcast on that very topic, too.
So very glad that you mentionedthat today, Felicia.
Before we go, is there anythingelse you'd like to add?
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
You know, I think one thing that is important for
employers to consider, becausethere's so many different
aspects to running a business,right?
You've got all of the staterequirements, you've got all the
federal requirements that kindof overlay that.
Sometimes there might beconflicts between policies or
regulations.
And I think one thing that'simportant to be mindful of, even
(23:27):
if you're a small business butyou're operating in a couple of
different states, take the moststringent requirements and try
and work towards those so thatthere's no gaps in what you
have.
And again, an OSHA safety lawyercan help with those questions.
So just some things to thinkabout.
That's great.
Thank you, Felicia, for joiningus today.
(23:48):
Thank you so much for theinvitation.
I enjoyed it, Beth.
SPEAKER_02 (23:51):
This episode's show notes include a link to the NFIB
Small Business Legal Center'snew printable OSHA legal guide,
which includes some helpfulresources for small business
owners.
You can also find a link to theNFIB Small Business Legal
Center's webinar series, wherewe'll host Felicia for an
OSHA-focused webinar on June3rd.
That's available at nfib.comslash webinars.
(24:14):
If your small business hasquestions on legal or regulatory
issues, you can also reach outto us by emailing info at
nfib.org.
SPEAKER_00 (24:23):
Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of
the Small Business Rundown.
Your continued support helps usamplify the issues that matter
most.
If you like this episode, pleasehelp small business owners find
the podcast by giving it arating, like, or review.
You can find us at nfib.com andon YouTube, X, LinkedIn,
(24:44):
Instagram, and Facebook.
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