Safety Help: CONN-OSHA’s Consulting Program

Companies have a primary responsibility to provide a safe workplace for its employees. Fulfilling this goal can be challenging.

Simply put, there is no one set of safety rules that all companies must follow. 

OSHA regulations are often industry specific, based on the situation or even a company’s size.

It can be a difficult endeavor to comply with and navigate the web of OSHA regulations.

CONN-OSHA’s Consultation Services can help companies provide a safe and healthy environment for their workers at no cost.

Services

CONN-OSHA is a division of the Connecticut Department of Labor. One of its missions is the enforcement of occupational and health standards as they apply to state and municipal employees.

In addition, the organization provides on-site consultative services to public and private sector employers.

The expansive service helps employers from both sectors control workplace hazards and prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, or fatalities.

Services include job hazard analysis, safety and health program development, ergonomic evaluations, air sampling, and noise monitoring.

These services include job hazard analysis, safety and health program development, ergonomic evaluations, air sampling, and noise monitoring.

CONN-OSHA consultants tailor the services to fit each employer’s needs.

While CONN-OSHA’s services can be helpful to all companies, the guidance for new businesses or those trying to develop their safety programs can be especially useful.

Perks

CONN-OSHA consultants will not issue companies penalties or citations during the process.

This leeway gives companies an opportunity to correct safety violations under the guidance of the government’s experts without being penalized.

There is potential for private employers to lower workers’ compensation costs and help prepare for OSHA inspections.

CONN-OSHA consultants do not exchange information with OSHA compliance officers.

Though the service can help prepare a company for such inspections, CONN-OSHA consultants do not exchange information with OSHA compliance officers.

If a consultation is in progress, OSHA will wait for it to end before inspecting a company. 

There are exceptions if there is a death in the facility, an employee files a complaint, or three or more employees are hospitalized because of a particular incident.

Collaboration

CONN-OSHA officials take pride in the collaborative nature of the process.

The program is designed to assist employers in providing a safe workplace, not rewrite a program without input from company leaders.

CONN-OSHA will work with the company to agree on appropriate actions to create a safe work environment.

CONN-OSHA consultations are confidential and are separate from OSHA enforcement operations. 

On rare occasions, CONN-OSHA’s director reserves the right to refer the situation to OSHA’s enforcement staff if an employer fails or refuses to control or eliminate a serious hazard or imminent danger.   

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To request a consultation, complete the request form and contact CONN-OSHA program manager Anne Bracker (860.263.6920). Employers can also write to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Labor, 38 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109.​