Small business tips from former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health IMAGE COURTESY OF FISHER & PHILLIPS
This week's "Ask the Mompreneur" features an interview with Ed Foulke, former head of OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, from 2006 to 2008. Foulke is now a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP, a law firm that represents employers across the country.
Ask the Mompreneur:
Many owners of growing businesses will need to rent commercial office space when they outgrow the spare bedroom. What do they need to do when setting up their space to ensure safety and avoid potential liability?
Ed Foulke:
When beginning a new venture and purchasing or renting an office or building space, many small business owners assume there are no safety or health issues or that those issues are handled by the seller or rental management agent. Such an assumption is wrong and, in many cases, could result in the small business owner being faced with significant OSHA penalties for safety and health violations.
Every entrepreneur needs to realize that once he or she starts their new venture and hire their first employee, they are automatically covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and subject to safety and health inspections by Compliance Officers with OSHA. In addition, depending on the state in which the new business is started, there may be additional safety and health laws which have been promulgated by that particular state or local government entity.
There are three broad areas of safety and health concerns that all entrepreneurs must examine when setting up their first office space. The first concern involves the physical structure to be purchased or rented. It is critical that the entrepreneur receive written assurances that the space being purchased or rented complies fully with the state and local building codes, the life safety codes and all OSHA safety and health standards. Specifically, from an OSHA perspective, the small business owner must determine if there are any physical safety and health hazards to which employees may be exposed. Those physical hazards may include electrical hazards, walking and working surface issues, sanitation, exit routes, ventilation, noise exposure, hazardous materials, fire protection, and machine guarding. The owner must also closely examine whether there are any other health hazards, including mold, hazardous chemicals or substances in the walls, ceilings and carpeting and, if the building is built before 1980, that either all the asbestos in the space has been removed or is in a non-friable state, thus not exposing any employees to asbestos fibers.
Please read on at:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/03/4082761/safety-checklist-for-your-first.html
