Environmental Health & Safety

Omaha Environmental Health Safety Attorney

SOLUTION

The Goosmann Sioux City attorney, Sioux Falls lawyer, and Omaha attorney team have an excellent history of routinely advising clients on the impact of ever-changing local, state and federal regulations covering solid and hazardous waste, air emissions, water quality, and employee health and safety.

Our team of lawyers has extensive knowledge on OSHA Process Safety Management and EPA Risk Management Plan regulatory compliance involving hazardous chemicals. Our attorneys have represented companies before federal and state agencies of government involving environmental, health and safety matters, EEOC, Wage & Hour, USDA, FAA, FDA and other government agencies.

We work with and represent executives and safety management teams in various industries including manufacturing, agribusiness, construction, and transportation.

The Goosmann team has a keen grasp of the law, with an insider’s perspective of the process. Our lawyers are familiar with requirements for permits, variances, and exemptions for new or existing facilities or processes. We can help your company conduct due diligence in connection with numerous small and large environmental transactions for companies domestically. Transactions involving industrial facilities and other real estate require a comprehensive evaluation of the regulatory, liability, and workplace safety and health issues related to the transaction. We offer clients substantial experience in structuring and coordinating these types of investigations, including working closely with environmental consultants.

Breathe easier knowing you have an entire team of attorneys behind you, helping you navigate the laws and regulations to keep you and your company out of hot water while keeping your employees safe! Call our Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Spirit Lake, and Omaha law teams today to do your company’s assessment for environmental health and safety while preparing you for future inspections and creating an effective risk-management program.

READINESS OSHA INSPECTION QUIZ

Please honestly answer the following questions about your company. A "NO" answer to a specific question results in a 10 points assessment. Obviously, the lower the number the better. Compare your total point score to the grid below for a quick assessment on how prepared your facility is for an OSHA inspection.

  1. Do you have a designated employee representative for OSHA inspections?
  2. Do you conduct OSHA-required annual program specific employee safety training sessions?
  3. Do your employees, without exception, always wear their required safety gear (i.e. hard hats, safety glasses, ear plugs, boots, etc.)?
  4. Do you have a written set of the required OSHA safety policies in place for your facility and readily available for inspection without prior notice?
  5. Do you know when a facility is required to immediately notify OSHA of an accident or injury occurring at the work site?
  6. Does your facility maintain an updated listing of Safety Data Sheets for all hazardous chemicals kept on site?
  7. Can OSHA cite an employer for a safety violation if a specific safety rule or regulation does not first exist concerning that employee's workplace activity?
  8. Can an OSHA violation also be an EPA violation even if the matter involves the same accident occurring on site at the same facility?
  9. Can a business owner or management employee be criminally prosecuted for an OSHA violation?
  10. Do you have current, up-to-date, and accurate OSHA accident/injury 300 log records for each facility?

10-20 points: With some modifications, such as an updated safety policy manual and periodic verifiable employee safety training, you are better than many other companies in your ability to properly manage an OSHA inspection.

20-40 points: You run a higher risk of incurring some OSHA fines and penalties. More time and attention should be given to bring your safety and risk management programs into compliance.

40+: You and your company are in HOT WATER!!! Immediate attention is needed for significantly improving your workplace safety and risk management program.

What We Offer

OSHA, EPA & DHS Compliance

“Is our company compliant with OSHA, EPA, and DOJ regulations?”

Don’t be an Ostrich with your head in the sand! OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) safety concerns can trigger additional civil, and even criminal, liability for a company and its owners/management from other federal regulatory agencies such as the EPA (Environmental Protection Association) and DOJ (Department of Justice) involving the same accident or incident. Triple Jeopardy is an employer’s worst nightmare when OSHA, EPA and the DOJ coordinate and “work together” to enhance liability, penalties and costs to employers. Our team helps get you ready for an OSHA inspection so you’re prepared when OSHA knocks on your door. Contact our Sioux City lawyer, Sioux Falls attorney, and Omaha lawyer team today.

How we can help:

  • Risk Management
  • Ergonomics
  • Hazard communication
  • Chemical process safety
  • Routine and emergency reporting
  • Waste management and disposal
  • hazardous waste cleanup
  • labeling and packaging requirements
  • pollution prevention and recycling issues
  • safety data sheet requirements
  • community right-to-know laws
  • Environmental Federal Affairs
  • Environmental Litigation
  • Environmental Regulatory
  • Environmental Transactional
  • Consumer Products Safety
  • Environmental Litigation
  • Food Safety
  • Product Liability
  • Public and Private Nuisance Litigation
  • Punitive Damages
  • Toxic Torts
  • Workplace Safety & Health
  • OSHA
  • EPA
  • DHS
  • underground storage tank requirements, wetlands issues, pesticide registrations, premanufacture notification requirements, and responding to catastrophic industrial accidents, including hazardous chemical releases.
  • Advising on ever-changing local, state and federal regulations covering solid and hazardous waste, air emissions, water quality, and employee health and safety
  • permits, variances, and exemptions for new or existing facilities or processes

Workplace Safety & Risk Management

Losing money and paying fines isn’t fun for any company, however workplace accidents and injuries are even worse as it effects your employee’s lives and their loved ones. Workplace safety and risk management should never be taken lightly. Teams should be trained on safety procedures and crisis and emergency plans. Make your employee’s lives, safety, and health a top priority. Call our Sioux City attorney, Sioux Falls lawyer, and Omaha attorney team today to help your company prevent workplace accidents and reduce risk in the future.

How we can help:

  • OSHA Compliance
  • EPA Compliance
  • DHS Compliance
  • Risk Management
  • Safety training programs
  • Hazard communication
  • Chemical process safety
  • Routine and emergency reporting
  • Safety data sheet requirements
  • permits, variances, and exemptions for new or existing facilities or processes

Food Safety

From FDA and FSIS/USDA Compliance to Recall Management and Dispute Resolution, we keep your food on the table. With food contamination and foodborne illness cases making the news on a regular basis, more and more attention is being paid to the issue of food safety. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has brought about what the FDA calls “the most sweeping reform of our food safety laws in more than 70 years.” The Food Safety Inspection Service of the USDA significantly impacts foodborne pathogens in the animal slaughter and processing industry. It is becoming increasingly important for food production businesses to ensure that they are complying with food safety regulations.

At the Goosmann Law Firm, our team of lawyers brings many years of food industry experience to the fast-growing areas of food product liability and food manufacturing regulatory compliance. We know about applicable FDA rules and food safety manufacturing/handling standards. We know about local food safety initiatives. We know what standards apply to our clients’ product, and we provide counsel and advice making sure those standards are understood and followed to protect our clients and consumers.

Our Sioux City law firm, Sioux Falls law firm, and Omaha law firm positions itself to help food companies prepare for and successfully navigate emerging FDA and FSIS/USDA regulations, and excels during aggressive FDA audit and compliance inspections. We also work very closely with food companies to help them navigate emerging foodborne illness outbreaks, manage and resolve wide-spread food product recalls, and defend against government enforcement actions.

There is no FDA or FSIS/USDA compliance issue we are not prepared to handle and successfully resolve. Whether you are simply looking to enhance your existing regulatory profile or facing an FDA or FSIS/USDA inspection or enforcement action, we are prepared to work closely with your company to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance.

We address all contractual food safety and liability issues in order to educate and protect our clients, helping them to avoid disputes whenever possible. When disputes do arise over food safety events, we move quickly to resolve them, using creative and out of the box strategies.

Attorney Bruce Smith has over 20 years of combined experience working with industry manufacturing leaders involving FDA, USDA, FSIS regulations and food safety compliance in the red meat, pork and poultry industry.

How we can help:

  • FDA Compliance

  • Recall Management

  • USDA/FSIS Compliance

  • Food Safety Litigations

  • Dispute Resolutions

  • Product Liability

  • Consumer Products Safety

  • Labeling and Packaging Requirements

Waste Management

How we can help:

  • Waste management and disposal
  • Hazardous waste cleanup
  • EPA Compliance
  • Pollution prevention and recycling issues
  • Community right-to-know laws
  • Environmental federal affairs
  • Environmental litigation
  • Environmental regulatory
  • Environmental transactional
  • Punitive damages
  • Toxic torts
  • Ergonomics
  • Hazard communication
  • Chemical process safety
  • underground storage tank requirements, wetlands issues, pesticide registrations, premanufacture notification requirements, and responding to catastrophic industrial accidents, including hazardous chemical releases.
  • Advising on ever-changing local, state and federal regulations covering solid and hazardous waste, air emissions, water quality, and employee health and safety

Regulatory Advising & Defense

We can help you with your regulatory advising and defense needs. Contact our Sioux City law firm, Sioux Falls law firm, and Omaha law firm today.

FAQs

PROBLEMS AND HOW WE SOLVE THEM

“Is our company compliant with OSHA, EPA, and DHS regulations?”

Knock, Knock… it’s OSHA.

Do you know what to do when OSHA comes to your company for a “surprise” inspection? Do you have a company safety compliance program in place with verifiable employee training?

You may feel a sense of panic when asked to answer these questions. You might feel overwhelmed, and sense a heightened degree of urgency that you need to do more in your company to be in compliance with the law. At Goosmann, we understand that CEOs, business owners, and safety management personnel have a big job, and we have good news, we are here to help.

Our Sioux City law firm, Sioux Falls law firm, and Omaha law firm can help you stay “green” with the EPA, compliant with OSHA, and in the clear with the federal Department of Justice and state Attorney General offices. Compliance pays dividends not only financially for your business’ bottom line, but it also protects workers from unnecessary accidents and injuries in the workplace. That means keeping your employees safe, happy, and healthy, minimizing the risks of wasted dollars on workers’ compensation, fines, and penalties, or worse – jail time. By making safety and environmental compliance a way of doing business, rather than just being another obligation to meet, business owners are able to enhance the quality of life for employees and families.

A man holding a hard hat

Learn More About Goosmann Law

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