OSHA: Nonunion Workers May Select Anyone As Representative During Agency Inspections

During safety inspections of nonunion workplaces, employees can be represented by anyone authorized by the site’s workers, according to an interpretation letter released April 5 by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The letter from Richard Fairfax, a deputy assistant OSHA secretary, explains that OSHA standard 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8(c), Representatives of Employers and Employees, allows workers at establishments without collective bargaining agreements to designate who will act on their behalf during inspections. The representative does not have to be a co-worker, Fairfax says.

While union safety officials view the letter as reinforcing existing OSHA policies, ...