Show-Me State Times

The Missouri On-Site Safety & Health Consultation Program, administered by the Division of Labor Standards within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, offers free on-site safety consultations to small businesses. The program targets businesses with fewer than 250 employees on-site and no more than 500 employees nationwide.

The initiative aims to help businesses identify and correct potential safety hazards without the risk of citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "Participants in the On-Site program reduce the risk of workplace accidents and injuries, avoid costly OSHA fines, and qualify for SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) certification," according to program details.

Interested businesses can sign up for a free inspection at https://labor.mo.gov/dls/onsite. Experienced safety consultants will conduct a comprehensive safety and health inspection, identifying violations that OSHA would typically penalize. Instead of issuing citations, the consultants provide a detailed report with recommendations for corrective actions. Participation in this voluntary program is confidential.

Businesses that achieve SHARP certification can benefit from lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums and up to three years of exemptions from OSHA’s general inspections. Currently, the average OSHA fine for serious hazards stands at $4,735 per hazard. Additional information about the SHARP program is available at labor.mo.gov/dls/onsite/sharp.