WASHINGTON – The Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC) issued a statement opposing the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process final rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on March 29.

The DOL said the final rule, effective May 31, 2024, clarifies the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer during an inspection of their workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. The final rule clarifies that, consistent with the law, workers may authorize another employee to serve as their representative or select a non-employee. For a non-employee representative to accompany the compliance officer in a workplace, they must be reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection.

"Worker involvement in the inspection process is essential for thorough and effective inspections and making workplaces safer," said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. "The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives employers and employees equal opportunity for choosing representation during the OSHA inspection process, and this rule returns us to the fair, balanced approach Congress intended."

The ABC, a national construction industry trade association representing more than 22,000 member companies, begged to differ in issuing its statement of opposition.

“Now, construction employees and employers could face serious safety concerns because the final rule has the potential to allow anyone on a jobsite,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “There simply is no business case for this final rule and no benefit during a compliance inspection.

“By allowing outside union agents access to nonunion employers’ private property, OSHA is injecting itself into labor-management disputes and casting doubt on its status as a neutral enforcer of the law,” Sizemore said. “This final rule negatively impacts the rights of employers while simultaneously ignoring the rights of the majority of employees who have not authorized a union to represent them. OSHA’s rule also poses unnecessary risk to the individual joining the inspection and others on the jobsite if the authorized person is not trained to safely walk a construction jobsite. The rule does not include any requirement that the authorized person be equipped or conduct themselves to the same standards as OSHA safety inspectors. Further, the final rule fails to answer who is legally responsible if the third party gets injured during the inspection or harms someone else.”