OSHA and Willful Violations

By -
Although a bad purpose or evil motive is not a necessary element of a willful violation, an employer is entitled to entertain a "good faith" opinion that his conduct conforms to regulatory requirements. Accordingly, a willful violation will not be found where an employer disputes in good faith the applicability of a standard. For example, evidence that an employer reasonably believed that the workplace hazard in question was not subject to regulation, and that the employer's supervisor took steps to alleviate apparent danger at the employer's work site has supported a finding that a violation of an OSHA standard was not willful.

The test of good faith is objective. An employer's belief concerning the factual matters in question must have been reasonable under the circumstances; i.e., the employer's belief must have been "non-frivolous."


Trenton H. Cotney
Board Certified in Construction Law
Trent Cotney, P.A.
1207 N Franklin St, Ste 222
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 579-3278


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dotted Line: When Contractors Can Walk Off the Job

By -
When general contractors or subcontractors sign on to construction projects, they usually start off believing everything will run smoothly. But, during the course of the work, issues sometimes arise that force all parties to go running back to their contracts in order to evaluate their options. One of those options for construction companies is to simply stop work, but contractors need to take care when making such a big decision. “Stopping work and ultimately terminating the contract is one of the most radical things you can do,” said Joseph McManus Jr., attorney and shareholder at law firm Carlton Fields.   Luckily, most of the circumstances under which contractors are clearly entitled to stop work are included in the most popular standard forms of contracts. Nonpayment The most common reason that contractors find it necessary to stop work, McManus said, is that they haven’t been paid for approved invoices. In that scenario, he said, contractors have the ...
Read more

"Mass-timber" Sees Greater Use in Roofing and Construction Projects in Europe

By -
Image
The use of "mass-timber," or prefabricated engineered wood components is becoming more common in construction and roofing applications in Europe. In projects such as the galleria roof of a central city building in Surrey, it helps meet demand for wood structures to add visual appeal. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com
Read more