Restaurant OSHA Safety: Understanding OSHA Standards
Restaurant OSHA safety plays an important role in protecting restaurant employees from workplace hazards.
Restaurants can be dangerous workplaces.
Employees work around hot food, boiling liquids, cooking equipment, chemicals, slippery floors, sharp objects and other hazards every day.
Understanding OSHA requirements can therefore be important when examining restaurant safety, employee training and management practices.
What Is Restaurant OSHA Safety?
OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created OSHA. The agency’s mission includes setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards.
Restaurants generally operate under OSHA’s General Industry standards.
However, the specific OSHA requirements that apply depend on the work being performed and the hazards involved.
That distinction matters.
Restaurant OSHA Safety and Workplace Hazards
Covered employers must comply with applicable OSHA safety and health standards.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act also contains what is commonly called the General Duty Clause.
The General Duty Clause requires covered employers to provide employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
Importantly, OSHA uses the General Duty Clause when no specific OSHA standard applies to the particular recognized serious hazard.
Restaurant workplace hazards may involve:
- Burns and scalds
- Slips, trips and falls
- Cuts and lacerations
- Hazardous chemicals
- Equipment
- Electrical hazards
- Workplace violence
- Other recognized workplace hazards
Restaurant operations can expose employees to several hazards during a single shift.
Restaurant OSHA Safety and Burns
Burns and scalds are significant restaurant workplace hazards.
Employees may work around:
- Hot cooking equipment
- Fryers
- Ovens
- Grills
- Steam
- Boiling water
- Hot grease
- Hot food
- Coffee
- Tea
- Other hot liquids
OSHA restaurant-safety materials identify burns and scalds associated with preparing and serving hot foods and beverages as potential workplace hazards.
Training and safe work practices can therefore become important parts of restaurant burn prevention.
Restaurant OSHA Safety and Hot Beverages
Coffee and tea deserve particular attention.
Restaurant employees may prepare, carry and serve hot beverages throughout a shift.
Employees may also operate coffee makers, hot-water dispensers and other equipment involving hot liquids.
The analysis should not stop with the fact that the beverage was hot.
Questions may include:
Was the employee properly trained?
Was the equipment being used correctly?
Were appropriate procedures in place?
Was the employee following those procedures?
Was there a recognized hazard?
Did a specific OSHA standard apply?
Those questions can become important when examining restaurant OSHA safety and hot-beverage operations.
OSHA Standards and Restaurant Industry Standards Are Not the Same Thing
This distinction is important.
An OSHA standard and a restaurant industry standard are not automatically the same thing.
OSHA requirements come from federal workplace-safety law, regulations and applicable standards.
Restaurant industry standards and practices may come from other sources.
Depending on the issue, those sources may include industry practices, training materials, manufacturer instructions, safety guidance and other relevant authorities.
An industry practice does not automatically become an OSHA requirement simply because it concerns safety.
Likewise, OSHA guidance does not necessarily create a new legal obligation.
Understanding the difference can be critical when analyzing a restaurant incident.
Restaurant OSHA Safety and Employee Training
Training is an important part of restaurant safety.
Employees need to understand the hazards associated with their work.
They also need to know how to perform their assigned tasks safely.
Depending on the operation and applicable requirements, training may involve:
- Equipment
- Chemicals
- Personal protective equipment
- Hot food and beverages
- Emergency procedures
- Hazard communication
- Safe work practices
A written policy sitting in an office does little good if employees do not understand how to apply it during an actual shift.
Restaurant Expert Witness Analysis
After a serious restaurant incident, a restaurant expert witness may examine the operation from several angles.
The analysis may include:
- Employee training
- Management oversight
- Restaurant policies
- Safety procedures
- Equipment
- Recognized hazards
- Employee practices
- Incident documentation
- Applicable OSHA requirements
- Relevant restaurant industry standards
OSHA requirements should be evaluated based on the specific workplace, employee activity and hazard involved.
The existence of a restaurant incident does not automatically mean an OSHA standard was violated.
Likewise, OSHA requirements should not be confused with every restaurant safety recommendation or industry practice.
Understanding Restaurant OSHA Safety
Restaurant safety involves more than reacting after someone gets hurt.
Management needs to identify hazards.
Employees need appropriate training.
Applicable safety requirements need to be understood.
Procedures need to work during an actual restaurant shift—not simply exist on paper.
That is the foundation of restaurant OSHA safety.
Recognize the hazard.
Train the employees.
Follow the applicable standards.