We all know that OSHA has the right to interview folks as part of an investigation. Whether a company representative and the company attorney can also attend an interview depends on who is being interviewed.

If the person to be interviewed is a non-managerial employee, OSHA can conduct the interview in private, outside the presence of the employer or the employer’s representatives. Not so with managerial employees. If OSHA wants to interview a management-level employee, you have the right to have a company representative and/or attorney be there.

Who Is a Managerial Employee?

OSHA has defined managerial employees as those employees who have been delegated authority over other employees, even if only temporarily. Supervisory or managerial status is not dependent on job titles, and the authority to hire or fire is not an essential requirement of supervisory status. OSHA can use statements from management employees for the purpose of imputing knowledge to the company. For this reason, employers have the right and, arguably, the responsibility to attend OSHA interviews of their management employees. Don’t forget that you can also have company counsel present during the interview to protect the company’s interests.