US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Limits OSHA’s Inspection Authority
On October 9, 2018 the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a decision in USA v. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. finding that OSHA 300 logs themselves do not provide reasonable suspicion that a violation of an OSHA standard occurred. OSHA 300 logs require employers to record every OSHA recordable work related death and injury and provide information on the injury such as the name of the employee and the location in the facility where the injury occurred. The court found that the hazards recorded in these logs do not adequately establish reasonable suspicion. As a result, OSHA will not be able to use these logs as the sole premise for obtaining warrants to inspect facilities in four states: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Source:
US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Limits OSHA’s Inspection Authority, USA v. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc., No. 16-17745 (11th Cir. 2018).
