Practice Areas: Labor & Employment

Occupational Safety and Health

On-The-Ground Response

When facing safety audits or emergencies, you need experienced, vigorous counsel who can represent and defend your company’s interests by your side. McGuireWoods safety and health services include:

• Responding to catastrophic workplace accidents and fatalities.
• Defending employers in OSHA and MSHA inspections and enforcement actions.
• Defending employers against complaints of retaliation and whistle-blowing violations filed with OSHA, MSHA, and state agencies.
• Counseling employers on developing and enhancing written safety and health programs and conducting self-audits.
• Advising employers on compliance with OSHA and MSHA regulations and other safety and health standards (and management of indoor air quality, including mold).

Representative Work

• Successfully defended a large manufacturer following a catastrophic explosion in North Carolina that resulted in a multi-agency investigation, including reviews by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, and the North Carolina Department of Labor.
• Successfully defended a contractor in enforcement action brought by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, alleging willful violation related to a fatality.
• Assisted and advised a large company following a chemical spill in North Carolina that resulted in multiple employees being hospitalized.
• Defended OSHA citations issued to a hospital, alleging violation of bloodborne pathogen standards.
• Defended more than 30 MSHA citations and orders and a related special investigation of a mining company arising from a fatal electrocution.