The Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S) serves as the University representative and liaison to Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (L&I) for all campus locations, including UW Medicine, and will coordinate all activities related to an L&I investigation. EH&S will coordinate on behalf of the University with the appropriate unit and University representatives, including Human Resources Labor Relations.
If an L&I Workplace Safety and Health Compliance Inspector contacts you or arrives at your worksite, notify EH&S immediately at 206-543-7262. Examples of contact may include:
- Receiving a letter from L&I regarding an alleged safety complaint
- An L&I Workplace Safety and Health Compliance Inspector contacting you or arriving at your workplace to conduct a workplace investigation
EH&S will ensure the appropriate individuals are notified and invited to the opening and closing conference, including union representatives, management, and safety/compliance officers.
At the opening conference, the L&I Inspector will typically:
- Notify the opening conference attendees of the contents of the alleged safety concern.
- Request a site walkthrough of the area specific to the alleged complaint
- Request to see the OSHA 300 log and other workplace accident prevention and safety plans, safety training records, and other University and unit or site-specific safety related records.
EH&S may accompany the Inspector on the site walkthrough when possible. During the walkthrough, the L&I Inspector may take photos (if permitted by the unit site requirements). They may also ask to interview employees at the time of the visit or at a later scheduled time. EH&S will coordinate with the University unit to a schedule employee interviews.
Following the on-site investigation, EH&S will facilitate all health and safety documentation requests and submissions to L&I, coordinate the closing conference and manage/facilitate University actions to in response to violations, if needed.
EH&S serves as the University representative and liaison to all federal, state, and local agencies and organizations on issues regarding environmental protection, radiation, public health, biological and research safety, fire and life safety, and occupational health and safety.
For more information on L&I workplace safety and health investigations, please contact the EH&S Occupational Safety and Health team at 206.543.7262.