Health and Safety: Responding to Employee Complaints (OSHA)

This report addresses the legal aspects of health and safety, specifically focusing on an employee's non-formal complaint regarding inadequate ventilation in a welding area. It includes a sample letter responding to the complaint, emphasizing the employer's adherence to safety regulations, such as providing safety training, using local exhaust ventilation, and the use of dust masks. The report then analyzes the OSHA complaint handling process, explaining why the employee's complaint is considered non-formal and outlining the criteria for prioritizing OSHA inspections. It differentiates between formal and non-formal complaints, detailing the requirements for each, including sources of complaints and how a non-formal complaint could be reclassified as formal. The report references relevant OSHA documents and provides a comprehensive overview of workplace safety regulations and procedures for handling employee concerns.

Running head: LEGAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY
Legal aspects of health and safety
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1LEGAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH
Part 1: Letter in response to the complaint
To,
The employee (Name)
United States
Sub: Response to an employee complaint regarding welding area
Dear Mr. (Employee name),
This letter is a formal response to the complaints we have received from you regarding
inadequate ventilation facilities in the area for employees performing welding operations on
stainless steel. We admit that welding on stainless steel products requires special ventilation and
we have focused on maintaining employee’s safety indoor by using local exhaust. In addition,
other safety requirement for workers is that they must keep gases and fumes out from their
breathing zone. We have given all required safety training to workers before hiring them for
welding work. Moreover, there is no question regarding the effectiveness of the dust mask
because medical evaluation and training has been provided to workers before using it. Hence,
we would like to state that all safety requirement and protection measures are present for
employees during the welding process and in this situation, we believe the no on-site inspection
is not required at the area.
Based on the above justification and explanation regarding safety of employees ate the area, the
complaint stands in-valid, however to address the concern of employees, we may also look to
provide additional OSHA approved respirator mask and conduct medical assessment of workers

2LEGAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH
very soon. Respirators can provides specific health benefits to workers during the welding
process.
Thank You.
Yours faithfully,
OSHA Director
Part 2: Answers related to the non-formal complaint by the employee
1. The complaint by the employee was a non-formal complaint and according to the OSHA
priority criteria, this type of complain comes under the OSHA complaints handling
process. It cannot inspect all workplaces it covers each year, hence they focus on
inspection on the basis of the following priorities:
 Imminent danger situations
 Severe injuries and illnesses
 Workers complaints
 Referrals of hazards
 Targeted inspections
 Follow up inspection (OSHA Inspections, 2017).
Hence, as the above letter is in response to a worker’s complaint regarding safety at welding unit,
it also under high priority because workers complaints is mentioned under the list of priorities for
inspection. Therefore, OSHA may look into the allegations imposed by the employee. The first
step for them before inspection would be to evaluate the employee’s complaints and identify the

3LEGAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH
reasonable ground to believe that it is a violation of an OSHA standard of health and safety
(OSHA Complaint Handling Process | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2017).
2. OSHA received both formal and non-formal complaints from workplace. In the scenario
above, a non-formal complaint was given by the employee. The circumstance that has
made this complaint non-formal rather than formal is that the employee did not followed
any of the below mentioned process to raise the complain:
 Assertion of imminent danger
 Violation of OSHA standards exposing employee to harm
 Complaint is reduced and submitted as an OSHA-7 form
 It is signed by at least one current employee or workplace representative
Hence, the complaint has become non-formal. The complaint from the employee is also
regarded as non-formal because it was not received from any of the sources give below:
 CHSO referral based on direct observation
 Safety and health agency referral
 11 (c) complaint referral
 Other agency referral
 Media report
 Employer report (CPL 02-00-140 - Complaint Policies and Procedures |
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2017).
3. The identity of the employee was not provided in case of a non-formal complaint for
inadequate ventilation in the welding area. However, an employer can identify the
employee who filed the complaint by looking at the address and location. They can also

4LEGAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH
look for records of employees going for complaints and investigate about hazardous
issues in their workplace by investigating about related issues from the medical response
team.
4. A non-formal complaint can be reclassified as formal complaint if the situation discussed
by the employee reported signs of imminent danger. The employee just mentioned about
workers coughing up black sputum, however no report was provided regarding event that
was life threatening for workers. The complaint would have also taken a formal status if
another employee raise the same complain regarding the site. All other criteria’s
mentioned for the complaint to be defined as formal can also help to reclassify the
complain as formal (CPL 02-00-140 - Complaint Policies and Procedures | Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, 2017).

5LEGAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH
Reference
CPL 02-00-140 - Complaint Policies and Procedures | Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. (2017). Osha.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017, from
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?
p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=3389
OSHA Complaint Handling Process | Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
(2017). Osha.gov. Retrieved 16 November 2017, from
https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/worker/handling.html
OSHA Inspections. (2017). Retrieved 16 November 2017, from
https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/factsheet-inspections.pdf