Practice Areas: Environmental Solutions

Occupational Safety and Health

Most of our clients, large and small, are employers, and thus regulated under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).

We have substantial experience handling matters arising under OSHA as well as the Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA) and their state counterparts. We advise clients on occupational safety and health regulatory compliance issues on a daily basis, and we defend enforcement cases. We work closely with lawyers in our Labor Group, who are experienced in this area.

Representative Work

• assisting a large insurance company in complying with recently-adopted asbestos regulations applying to its headquarters building;
• defense of OSHA citations issued to a hospital alleging violation of bloodborne pathogen standards;
• defense of over thirty MSHA citations and orders and a related special investigation of a mining company arising from a fatal electrocution;
• advice to an electronics assembly company regarding OSHA’s hazard communication standards;
• trial of an MSHA enforcement action brought against a large West Virginia cement company for its allegedly insufficient training program and alleged violations committed by supervisors;
• defense of separate OSHA enforcement actions brought against the fire departments of two Virginia localities;
• defense of an OSHA enforcement action arising from a three-month process safety inspection;
• defense of an intensive, two month long wall-to-wall safety and health inspection of a large manufacturing facility in the northeast;
• trials of alleged violations at construction sites in Virginia and North Carolina before state courts and administrative law judges and before federal Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission law judges;
• litigation of an alleged MSHA retaliatory discipline charge; and
• advice on indoor air quality problems resulting from gasoline contamination at a bank and office building.