What OSHA’s Walkaround Rule Means For Employers
June 13, 2024
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s “Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process” — referred to as the Walkaround Rule — went into effect on May 31, 2024. The Walkaround Rule significantly expands which third parties are permitted to participate in an on-site OSHA investigation and clarifies that employees have the right to designate a non-employee third party to be their representative. Employers are now assessing what steps they can take to try to prevent participation from third parties who do not satisfy the criteria in the revised regulation. Before the Walkaround Rule, OSHA regulations permitted third parties to participate in on-site OSHA inspections for the “purpose of aiding such inspection.” These third parties were limited to experts such as industrial hygienists or safety engineers.
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