OSHA – Safety & Health

Meeting Individualized Client Needs — Responsiveness and Prevention

• OSHA Safety & Health Group attorneys start with responsive "first line of defense" services available on a 24/7 basis.
• Nelson Mullins attorneys are ready to adapt their schedule to the geographically diverse facilities of the client when they need us.
• We develop written safety and health programs and conduct health and safety compliance audits specific to individual client needs.
• We offer comprehensive corporate and plant-level contingency plans for dealing with catastrophic accidents and help implement these programs and plans properly with training on the plans or by simply answering questions from managers and employees.
• Nelson Mullins attorneys have our clients' safety and health interests foremost in mind by continuously seeking out new ways to provide improved services, advice, and counseling to our clients in the areas of safety and health.

Continuous Training and Development

Nelson Mullins' early involvement in safety and health means preparing managers and employees to deal with everyday issues that can arise in the workplace. Proper program training is our priority.

Our training covers injury prevention, reporting potential violations to the proper management; not engaging in self-help when ordinary rules and procedures do not provide an answer; knowing when an incident needs to be reported to OSHA and when it does not; and knowing how to respond in the event of an emergency. Our attorneys can provide continual up-to-date safety and health training and development for your workforce.

Interpreting and Managing the Complexities of OSHA

Nelson Mullins’ OSHA Safety & Health attorneys have worked with these technical regulations in a variety of capacities and can assist clients in managing the nuances of so many rules and regulations.

Our attorneys have experience in areas such as:

• Lock-out tag-out
• Ergonomics
• Exposure testing
• Haz Com issues
• Employee exposure
• Construction regulations
• Injury reporting
• Noise protection
• Personal protective equipment
• Repetitive tasks effects
• Document retention
• Industrial hygiene
• Responses addressing OSHA’s General Duty Clause
• Toxic torts involving OSHA compliance

Preparedness for OSHA Inspections

Beginning with the scope of the inspection and continuing through OSHA access to personnel records, protecting proprietary information, and employee interviews, Nelson Mullins provides clients with the tools to guide them through the arduous OSHA inspection process when it happens. Our attorneys have firsthand knowledge dealing with OSHA inspectors and are always available to answer any questions about an inspection at any time. Getting our OSHA Safety & Health attorneys involved early on helps our clients such that when inspections do occur, there will be fewer non-compliance issues and minimized fines associated with violations.

Enforcement Defense

Nelson Mullins is ready to defend employers against OSHA and state civil and criminal enforcement actions including, but not limited to: 

• Citations involving allegations of willful and repeated violations
• Proposed multimillion-dollar civil penalties
• Employee death

Retaliation Claims

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA retaliation claims have increased. Even where underlying safety and health complaints have no merit, the employer can still be held liable for retaliation. Nelson Mullins attorneys have experience handling retaliation claims specific to OSHA and have successfully resolved even the most difficult retaliation cases.

Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

• Assisted clients in developing and implementing safe workplace plans and back-to-work policies in light of COVID-19 pandemic 
• Represented a major manufacturer in the defense of OSHA citations in multiple states, including North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington 
• Represented an international car parts manufacturer in the successful settlement of North Carolina Department of Labor citation alleging multiple serious OSHA violations at a North Carolina facility 
• Represented an international car parts manufacturer in the successful settlement of South Carolina Labor Licensing and Regulation citation alleging multiple serious OSHA violations at a South Carolina facility 
• Represented an international coatings and chemicals manufacturer in multiple litigated OSHA matters in front of the North Carolina Safety and Health Review Commission 
• Represented an international chemical company in advising on OSHA matters and related litigation involving employee injuries and death resulting from a plant explosion
• Represented chemical companies and product manufacturers in hazardous communications enforcement matters