Legal Aspects Discussion-
Both employers and employees have a right to contest citations and penalties and to request a review of decisions made by administrative law judges by the full Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The process is used frequently by employers but infrequently by employees. Discuss situations where you believe an employee would benefit the most from contesting a citation, and why you believe employees do not participate in the process to a greater extent.
Assignment-
You fail to reach an informal settlement agreement with the area director. You file a Notice to Contest within the required 15-day period. Your case is assigned to an administrative law judge (ALJ). Prepare a document summarizing the case you will submit to the ALJ. The document should discuss the following at a minimum:
• which citations and penalties you would contest,
• the reasoning behind each contested citation and/or penalty,
• documents you would bring to the hearing,
• individuals you would use at the hearing,
• how the case before the ALJ differs from the informal conference,
• what information will be presented before the ALJ that was not presented in the informal conference, and
• what information you would request from OSHA as part of discovery.
You must support your actions with reliable sources. Your grade will be based on your ability to present a case to your professor, serving as the ALJ, to reduce or vacate either the severity of some citations or the amount of some penalties. If you simply state that you accept the citations and penalties as written, you will receive a minimal score on the assignment.
Your response must be a minimum of two pages in length, using at least one reference. All sources must be cited in the text and on the reference page, using APA style.