Accessibility Tools

Skip to main content

OSHA LACKS PROBABLE CAUSE TO CONDUCT BROAD SAFETY INSPECTIONS

Written on .

In a October 9, 2018 decision by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a district court ruling has been affirmed quashing an inspection warrant that OSHA had sought to expand a limited incident inspection to a "wall-to-wall" inspection covering every facet of the employer's facility.  USA v. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc.  This case was handled by the Wimberly & Lawson firm headquartered in Atlanta and sets important limitations on governmental rights to search an employer's premises. 

The situation arose when an employee at a Georgia poultry processing facility was injured while working on an electrical panel box using an uninsulated screwdriver.  The employer duly reported the incident to OSHA as required by law, and when OSHA inspectors arrived, they announced their intent to inspect the entire facility.  The employer through counsel contended that the inspection should be confined to the area where the accident occurred and denied that OSHA had sufficient probable cause to expand their inspection. 

OSHA obtained a warrant, but the firm was able to quash the warrant for a lack of probable cause.  A federal judge granted the motion, and on appeal OSHA abandoned one of its arguments, that the expanded inspection was justified because it was part of a special emphasis program for certain facilities.  Instead, OSHA's main argument was that the OSHA 300 logs, upon which covered employers are required to list serious work-related injuries and illnesses, satisfied its burden to show that it had probable cause to believe that OSHA standards were being violated.  The federal appeals court rejected OSHA's argument, finding that the OSHA 300 log was not a substitute for reasonable cause to believe a statute had been violated.

Thus, a Fourth Amendment provision that "no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause. . ." is an important protection, including a protection for employers against government over-reach.

Related Content

Get Email Updates

Receive newsletters and alerts directly in your email inbox. Sign up below.

Recent Content

person staning next to someone in a wheelchair, outdoors

"No-Fault" Attendance Policy Upheld against Disability Claims

Employers continue to be confused about how to handle absences related to disabilities, as to applying their "no-fault" attendance polici...
person holding up a hand, stop, indoors

NLRB Issues First Unfair Labor Practice Complaint against Non-Competes and Training Repayment

The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), former union lawyer Jennifer Abruzzo, continues to attempt to expand th...
ftc front door

Department of Justice's Anti-trust Division Announces Anti-trust Compliance Programs Include Training for Human Resources

There is relatively recent increased attention from government enforcement authorities of anti-trust issues affecting human resource prof...
stylized ai graphic

AI Hiring Bias Is New Focus of EEOC

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Strategy Enforcement Plan for 2024-2028 published in the Federal Register last year ...
old fashio keys, hanging on a ring, attached to a wood board

Keys to Address Employee Dissatisfaction and Activism

We are in a new age of employee dissatisfaction and activism.  There were critical labor shortages during the pandemic, and increased con...
promo graphic, Procedural Accommodations: Efficiently Handling Employer Obligations

Procedural Accommodations: Efficiently Handling Employer Obligations

The ADA and other legislation – both states as well as federal -- often require “reasonable accommodations” in a multiplicity of settings...