On Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Conn Maciel Carey hosted a special bonus webinar in our 2023 OSHA Webinar Series regarding OSHA’s LEP for Midwest Food Manufacturers.

Presented by
Conn Maciel Carey LLP with Special Guest

 Steve Hawkins
(Former Head of Tennessee OSHA)

OSHA is now conducting inspections in Illinois (and Ohio) as part of a new Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for the Food Manufacturing Industry announced in late 2022. This LEP empowers Illinois OSHA offices to inspect food manufacturing and processing sites with a focus on machine guarding hazards, the employer’s hazardous energy control program, and the sanitation program (hazard communication and Group LOTO). OSHA has the ability under this LEP to conduct inspections for all referral and complaints, formal or non-formal, which contain allegations of potential worker exposure to serious hazards associated with operating food production machinery or performing service, maintenance, and sanitation tasks on food processing and ancillary equipment.

Establishments can be selected for an inspection even if they have an exemplary safety record, have not been the subject of any complaints, and have not recently reported a serious incident. This discussion covered what to expect and how to prepare your company for an OSHA inspection.

Attendees heard directly from FDR Safety’s Steve Hawkins, former Head of Tennessee OSHA, and Aaron Gelb, Head of Conn Maciel Carey’s Midwest OSHA Practice. Together they answered the following questions:

• • What is an emphasis program?
  • How do programmed inspections differ from accident and complaint-based inspections?
  • Which NAICS codes will be targeted?
  • What happens during an LEP inspection?
  • Which aspects of your operations draw the most scrutiny?
  • What hazards are seen most often in food manufacturing?
  • How should employers prepare for LEP inspections?

Attendees were given a checklist they can use to self-assess key compliance aspects of their safety and health programs to better prepare for an OSHA inspection.

We are pleased to share these links to a copy of the slides and a recording of the webinar.

If you would like to be registered for the entire 2023 series, click here to send us an email request and we will get you registered.

This was the 3rd webinar event in Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s 2023 OSHA Webinar Series.  Click here to view our full schedule and detailed program descriptions for all of the webinars scheduled for the 2023 OSHA Webinar Series.

If you missed any of our past webinars in our annual OSHA Webinar Series, view our OSHA Webinar Library to access of our webinar recordings. Also, click here to subscribe to our YouTube channel and get an email notification when new recordings become available.