Unlike most other employment laws, the OSH Act is enforced reactively and proactively. OSHA not only responds to employee complaints of violations, but also goes to workplaces on its own initiative and conducting inspections to determine whether employers are complying with the law. At the same time, enforcement is not effective without the active involvement of employees bringing hazards to OSHA’s attention, participating in the inspection process, and occasionally taking enforcement into their own hands.

In order of priority, OSHA inspects workplaces where it has reason to believe there is imminent danger of death or serious physical harm to employees, where it has received employee complaints, and for follow-up inspections. Most OSHA inspections are unannounced. When OSHA inspectors (compliance officers) arrive at workplaces, they first locate and present their credentials to the owners or other people in charge. The OSH Act empowers OSHA inspectors to enter workplaces without delay and at reasonable times to examine records, inspect conditions, and question individuals.

However, the Supreme Court has determined that the Fourth Amendment rights of employers to be free from unreasonable search and seizure permit them to refuse entry to OSHA inspectors without a search warrant. OSHA can generally obtain a warrant from a court by establishing probable cause of a violation or by showing that selection for a programmed inspection was based on reasonable administrative criteria. An employer representative is entitled to accompany the compliance officer during a workplace inspection, but employers are prohibited from intimidating or interfering with compliance officers as they perform their jobs.

While touring workplaces, compliance officers might write down observations, take photographs, take instrument readings, and ask questions of employees. Apparent violations are pointed out. Although some violations can be corrected on the spot, this does not necessarily preclude issuance of citations for those violations. At a closing conference, the compliance officer goes over the observed violations and the OSHA appeal process.

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