Are Trade Secrets Protected in an OSHA Inspection?
Inspectors are prohibited by law from disclosing a company’s trade secrets and proprietary information. An inspector who violates this law can be subject to criminal prosecution, fines, and imprisonment. This is one reason for accompanying an inspector during the walkabout. Company representatives should identify proprietary processes, formulae, and other trade secrets that an inspector observes so that he is aware of the confidential nature of the information. A particularly sensitive issue arises when an inspector wants to take a photograph in which a trade secret may appear. However, the inspector may agree not to take the photo or to shoot it in such a way that the resulting image would be useless to a competitor.What Are the Potential Penalties? A range of potential citations and penalties is possible for violations identified during an OSHA inspection. The area director has some discretion in determining the nature of and the penalty for a violation. Citation categories and assoc
