Ideas on how to discipline workers for OSHA violations

Unless safety officers work in a medical facility with perfectly compliant employees, they will be forced into the unenviable but inevitable job of confronting an employee who is not adhering to OSHA worker safety regulations.

On most occasions, safety managers encounter an innocent mistake or a one-time offense that is easily correctable. On other occasions, however, persistent or especially hard-headed employees will demonstrate consistent noncompliance because of inconvenience or simply out of sheer stubbornness.

In either case, safety officers must be prepared to approach employees in an appropriate way that is beneficial to the safety of the healthcare worker and the overall adherence to OSHA regulations and best practices within the facility. Finding that approach, however, can be challenging.

Two of the most common OSHA safety violations are phlebotomists biting the tip of the index finger off of gloves to better feel for a patient’s vein and physicians not wearing required personal protective equipment (PPE) during procedures, says Kathy Rooker, safety officer and owner of Columbus Healthcare & Safety Consultants in Canal Winchester, OH.