Employer General Responsibilities
Your employer must provide a workplace free from recognized hazards and comply with OSHA standards. Establishing a safe and healthful workplace requires every employer to make safety and health a core value.
In general, OSHA requires employers to:
- Maintain conditions and adopt practices reasonably necessary to protect you on the job. The first and best strategy is to control the hazard at its source. Engineering controls do this, unlike other controls that generally focus on the worker who is exposed to the hazard. The basic concept behind engineering controls is that, to the extent feasible, the work environment and the job itself should be designed to eliminate hazards or reduce exposure to hazards.
- Be familiar with the standards that apply to their workplaces, and comply with these standards.
- Ensure that you are provided with, and use, personal protective equipment (PPE), when needed. PPE is needed when exposure to hazards cannot be engineered completely out of normal operations or maintenance work, and when safe work practices and other forms of administrative controls cannot provide sufficient additional protection. PPE may also be appropriate for controlling hazards while engineering and work practice controls are being installed, and
- Comply with the OSHA's General Duty Clause where no specific standards apply. The general duty clause, or Section 5(a)(1) of the Act requires each employer to "furnish a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees."
In December 2025, an Oregon OSHA inspection at a manufacturing facility identified multiple serious workplace safety hazards involving material storage systems and machinery. Inspectors found that industrial storage racks used to hold heavy raw materials were improperly installed and poorly maintained. Several baseplates were not anchored to the floor, some were damaged, and others were installed incorrectly. Despite these conditions, heavy materials were stored at height, and employees accessed them manually and with forklifts.
These conditions exposed workers to significant struck-by and crushing hazards, as unsecured materials could shift or fall and seriously injure employees below. In addition to the storage hazards, inspectors also identified a belt sander with unguarded moving parts, creating a clear risk of hand or finger injuries. No injuries or fatalities were reported at the time of the inspection. However, Oregon OSHA determined that the hazards presented a realistic and foreseeable risk of serious injury or death if left uncorrected.
The investigation concluded that the employer was aware of the unsafe storage rack conditions and failed to take corrective action. As a result, Oregon OSHA cited the employer for a willful violation related to the storage system hazards, meaning the company knowingly allowed a dangerous condition to persist. A second violation was issued for the unguarded machine. The employer was ordered to correct the hazards and was assessed a total fine of $28,478.
This case highlights the importance of hazard identification, reporting, and follow-through in preventing serious workplace incidents:
- Unsafe storage systems and structural deficiencies must be reported, evaluated, and corrected immediately, especially when heavy materials are involved.
- Hazards that do not cause immediate injury should not be minimized or ignored; near-miss conditions often precede serious incidents.
- Employees and supervisors must be trained to recognize struck-by, crushing, and machine-entanglement hazards and understand when equipment is unsafe to use.
- Known hazards must be documented and escalated, and corrective actions must be tracked to completion.
- Proactive inspections and early reporting create a feedback loop that allows hazards to be addressed before enforcement actions — or injuries — occur.
Consistent reporting and prompt corrective action are essential to maintaining a safe workplace and preventing known hazards from escalating into serious injuries, fatalities, or regulatory penalties.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-2. Establishing a safe and healthful workplace requires every employer to make safety and health _____.
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