You may defend against a citation by showing that:

• You lacked knowledge of the violation.
• No employees were exposed to a hazard.
• The violation was caused by an unanticipated employee violation of your work rule.
• Compliance with the standard would have created a greater hazard to employees.
• Compliance with the standard was impossible or not feasible.

Defenses to a general duty violation. In order to establish that it was the employee's misconduct and not you who is responsible for a citation under the general duty clause, you must show that:

• The employee violated a well-enforced work rule.
• The worker's conduct could not be predicted.
• The conduct could not be prevented.

The clause requires employers in all types of business to take OSHA seriously and to carefully maintain safety and health compliance.

 

Did You Know? Employers have been penalized even when employees deliberately violated safety rules because the employer did not consistently enforce discipline for safety violations or provided inadequate training. Employers are responsible for the acts of supervisors even though they have no knowledge or may not approve after the fact of a supervisor's actions. Thus a supervisor who fails to prohibit unsafe practices is condoning the unsafe practice and the company is responsible.