Become Familiar with and Prepared for a DOSH Inspection

Washington State Labor and Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has instituted a Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for enforcement that targets industrial hygiene issues in long term care. This program is set to run through 2024 but may be extended beyond that. At least two WHCA retro group members have been subject to inspection under this program to-date.

DOSH enforcement has compiled a list for inspections under this program based on claims rates. While higher-than-average claims rates is the main factor DOSH uses to determine who to include in this LEP, they also reserve the right to include any complaints or referrals under this program. That means that even if a facility or company might not have been chosen based on claims rates, the facility or company still might be included based on those complaints or referrals.

It is important that, just like with survey, facility leadership and staff stay prepared. WHCA has worked closely with ERNWest in the development of a checklist, provided here, that should be evaluated by the facility’s safety committee. The items on this checklist are generally topics covered during a DOSH inspection and can help ensure preparation for survey in addition to promotion of worker safety.

If your facility is a part of WHCA’s workers’ compensation program through ERNWest, you can contact your ERNWest representative for an onsite audit in preparation for a DOSH inspection. To learn more about WHCA’s workers’ compensation program, please visit the WHCA website.