Illinois OSHA Checklist, Mistakes and FAQs

The Two-Badge Safety Sort

A first step in any Illinois workplace-safety question is working out which agency, federal or state, has authority. The Two-Badge Safety Sort walks through that step and what follows. The overview explains the split, and the rules and numbers page lists the details.

1. Find your badge. A private business answers to federal OSHA. A state, county, city, village, township, school district or public university answers to IL OSHA. Federal agencies, the Postal Service, maritime employers and military sites answer to federal OSHA.
2. Pull the right rulebook. Private employers use federal OSHA standards. Public employers use 820 ILCS 219 and the federal standards the state has adopted.
3. Check the postings. Public employers display the Job Safety and Health poster and the yearly Form 300A summary, even with no cases.
4. Check the records. Keep injury and illness records apart from payroll files. The federal rule for employers who must keep them is 5 years after the covered year, and public employers also keep exposure records (see how long to keep records).
5. Mark the deadlines. For public employers, the contest period for a citation is 15 working days.
6. Protect reporters. Public employers may not retaliate against an employee who reports a hazard, even one who reports only to a manager.
7. Use free help. Small private businesses can ask the Illinois On-Site Consultation Program for free, confidential advice separate from enforcement (serious hazards left unfixed can be referred).

Common mistakes

• Assuming IL OSHA inspects private businesses. It does not.
• Assuming no Illinois enforcement means no OSHA exposure. Federal OSHA covers private workplaces in the state.
• Public employers not posting the Job Safety and Health poster or the Form 300A summary, which is $1,000 each.
• Public employers missing the 15-working-day contest period, which makes the citation final.
• Public employers retaliating against an employee who reported a hazard, including a report made only to a manager.
• Treating a repealed Illinois statute, 820 ILCS 220 or 225, as current.

When to talk to an attorney

A CPA cannot answer these legal questions. People commonly consult an attorney when:

• An OSHA or IL OSHA inspection, citation or proposed penalty arrives, because contest deadlines are short.
• A fatality, amputation, hospitalization or risk of criminal referral is involved.
• A retaliation or whistleblower complaint is filed.
• A multi-employer worksite or subcontract dispute turns on who controls the hazard.
• It is unclear whether the workplace is private, public or federal, such as a private contractor on a public site.

Frequently asked questions