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    The Open Sanctuary Project’s OSHA Compliance Checklist

    A sample of the OSHA compliance checklist
    A sample of our OSHA Compliance Checklist!

    Updated September 7, 2021

    Enter your organization’s (or your) name and email below to download a printable checklist to review basic OSHA compliance at your sanctuary. Please note that this is an introductory educational reference to sanctuary safety and legal compliance. Your sanctuary may have its own safety challenges to consider when reviewing this list and creating policies!

    Check out our full article about OSHA compliance for your animal sanctuary here!

    We promise not to use your email for any marketing purposes! Would you prefer to access this form in a different way? Contact us and let us know!

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    Have you used this form at your sanctuary and want to give us your feedback on improvements? Let us know here!

    Full Text Of This Checklist

    The Open Sanctuary Project’s OSHA Compliance Checklist

    All organizations in the United States with at least employee must comply with OSHA regulations. Review this checklist regularly as your sanctuary grows to ensure you are 

    providing a safe environment for everyone at your sanctuary. If you are looking for specific recommendations for your sanctuary, contact OSHA and ask for a non-penalizing inspection.

    For more details about this topic, see this article at OpenSanctuary.org

    GENERAL SAFETY

    • Regularly review your sanctuary for potential hazards to employees or volunteers that could be reasonably remedied; implement fixes as soon as possible
    • Communicate all unmitigable hazards of your sanctuary to employees and volunteers
    • Record all non-consumer chemical products used at your sanctuary and their potential hazards in one centralized location; make this information easily available to employees
    • Provide employee training for heavy equipment; do regular equipment maintenance

    STRUCTURE SAFETY

    • Provide first aid kits in all structures; provide basic first aid training to employees
    • Provide fire suppression devices in all structures; train employees on their effective use
    • Ensure all electrical equipment and wiring is installed and operating safely at all times
    • Ensure all structures regularly accessed by humans have lighted emergency exit signs
    • Ensure all ladders and lofts are stable, secure, and inaccessible to the public; determine each loft’s weight limit, post signage of this limit and abide by it at all times
    • Create policies to keep volunteers and visitors from accessing all hazardous areas

    EMPLOYEE AREAS

    • Prominently display OSHA’s official poster in an area where employees can easily see it
    • Provide bathroom facilities with hot and cold water, soap, and hand dryer or clean towels

    RESIDENT AREAS

    • Provide emergency eyewash stations and sharps disposal containers in resident areas
    • Create a quarantine area that is physically separate from other areas and secure; create a quarantine protocol and an employee hygiene policy to avoid human zoonotic transfer
    • Provide protective equipment for any employees treating ill or quarantined residents
    • Provide employee training for resident behavior and safe resident handling
    • Keep all dangerous or addictive medication under lock and key at all times

    EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

    • Create policies to immediately address any human injury or illness on sanctuary grounds
    • Create emergency action and evacuation plans to be used in case of fire or natural disasters that your area is prone to; make all plans easily available to employees
    • Report all serious employee injuries on your sanctuary’s grounds to OSHA immediately
    • Log all serious employee injuries on OSHA Form 300; keep record for at least five years

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