Who sets the rules
Private-sector employers in New York fall under federal OSHA, which enforces specific standards for hazards such as fall protection, machine guarding, and hazard communication, along with a general duty to keep the workplace free of recognized serious hazards. Public employers in New York are covered by the state's Public Employee Safety and Health program instead. New York has added its own requirements, including the HERO Act, which deals with airborne infectious disease plans, and workplace violence prevention rules for certain sectors such as retail. Local codes, insurance carriers, and customer contracts often add their own expectations on top of these.
Where programs tend to fall short
Gaps often appear in written programs that were never updated after the operation changed, in training that is documented but not understood, and in injury logs that are incomplete. Employers have reporting duties for serious injuries and fatalities on short timelines, and failing to report can draw more attention than the incident itself. Contractors and temporary workers on site raise questions about which employer is responsible for training and equipment. Employee concerns about safety are protected activity, so the way a supervisor responds to a complaint matters legally as well as practically.
Putting a program on solid ground
We begin by reviewing your written safety programs, training records, injury and illness logs, and any prior inspections or citations. We look at which standards apply to your actual operations and whether state rules add anything for your sector. If an incident has just happened, preserving records and handling the required report come first. We also talk about how safety audits are structured, since findings from an audit conducted with counsel may be treated differently from an internal review, and that affects how candid the review can be without creating a roadmap for a later claim.
