CONSULTATION

The Consultation Program exists to help you, the employer, and the Unions. Consultation assistance can be comprehensive, going well beyond the minimal requirements of OSHA regulations.   Consultants can evaluate your safety and health management systems workplace’s mechanical, physical work practices, and environmental hazards.

Using a free consultation service largely funded by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employers can find out about potential hazards at their worksites, improve their occupational safety and health management systems, and even qualify for a one-year exemption from routine OSHA inspections. Effective workplace safety and health management system at your worksite(s) will enable you to:

• Recognize and remove hazards from your workplace.
• Protect your workers from injury and illness.
• Prevent the loss of life at your worksite.
• Cultivate informed and alert employees who take responsibility for their own and their coworkers’ safety and worksite safety as a whole.
• Improve employee morale.

Confidentiality will be strictly maintained during the consultation process. The consultant will only report hazard information to OSHA if the employer fails to correct an imminent danger or serious hazards.

The On-Site Consultants Will Not

• Issue citations or propose penalties for violations of OSHA standards;
• Report possible violations to OSHA enforcement staff;
• Guarantee that your workplace will “pass” an OSHA inspection.

Hazard Correction and Follow-Through

The consultant will send to the department and/or agency head a detailed written report approximately 20 days after the closing conference that explains the findings and confirms agreed upon correction periods. A list of hazards is included in the report and must be posted electronically or in an easily observable area by employees for three days or until the listed hazards are corrected. Consultants may also contact the establishment from time to time to check progress, and employers may always contact them for assistance. Employers using the consultation service are deferred from OSHA’s scheduled inspections while the consultation remains “in progress.” This period encompasses the time between the onset of the consultation and the final correction dates, including any extensions.

The Virgin Islands also has an agreement with OSHA, under Section 23(g) of the OSH Act to provide free onsite consultation services to the public sector. For more information on this service, please contact the Onsite Consultation Program at (340) 718-1315 or via email vidoshconsult@dol.vi.gov

Voluntary and Cooperative Programs

VIDOSH has a territorial government consultation program. It also has an agreement with OSHA, under section 21(d) of the OSH Act, 29 USC 670(d) to provide free on-site consultation services to the private sector. For more information, please contact the “Safety in Paradise” On-site Consultation Program which is administered by the University of the Virgin Islands.

Informal Conferences and Appeals

Public sector department and/ or agencies who receive a citation and would like to contest the said citation may notify the VIDOSH Director within 15 workdays of citation issuance and a hearing will be held.