WORKPLACE SAFETY PLAN Employers in certain industries must develop and implement a written workplace accident and injury reduction program to promote safe and healthful working conditions. Industries where a plan is required are identified by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry by Standard Industrial Classification, based on the industry segment’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ injury and illness record. The list is updated every two years and is published in Minnesota Rules 5208.1500. An employer who is in a designated industry must develop its written plan within six months following the date the standard industrial classification (SIC) code for the industry is placed on the list. The program must have clearly stated goals and objectives, and must describe responsibility for implementing the program; management participation; methods used to identify, analyze, and control new or existing hazards, conditions and operations; communication of the plan to affected employees; investigation of workplace accidents and corrective action; and enforcement of safe work practices. The employer must conduct and document a review of the workplace accident and injury reduction program at least annually and document how procedures described in the program are met. EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Although the primary responsibility for compliance with the law rests with the employer, employees are obliged to comply with OSHA standards and regulations which are applicable to their own actions and conduct. Employees cannot be cited or fined for noncompliance; employers must set up their own disciplinary procedures for employees who violate standards or regulations. Employee rights include, but are not limited to, the following: • Employees have the right to request an OSHA inspection by filing a written complaint with the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division describing the hazardous conditions that exist at the work facility. The complaint must be filed by a current employee or an authorized employee representative and must be signed. A complainant's name is not revealed nor is it part of any inspection record made available for review. • Employees may participate in standards development activities. • Employees must be notified of a variance request filed by their employer; employees may petition for a hearing on the variance request. • Employee representatives may participate in the opening conference, walk-around inspection and closing conference conducted as part of an OSHA inspection; employees who exercise this right must be paid their usual wage. • Employees may not be discriminated against because they exercised any right afforded them under the Minnesota OSHA Act. In addition, note that when an employee sues, alleging discrimination or discharge due to his or her assertion of rights under that Act, any communication between that employee and attorneys representing the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is, per Minn. Stat. § 182.669, subd. 1, “privileged as would be communications between an attorney and a client.”
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