PaulEngr wrote:
So the answer is probably no but the logical conclusion is not worth the risk unless the hazard of personal fines and prison sentences is taken into account if you get caught.
I concur with "probably no". However, two things to add.
I am contacted from time to time by attorneys representing various clients and on a few occasions, the client was cited and fined by OSHA and there was no incident - just an inspection. One case, OSHA performed an inspection and cited the company for no labels, PPE etc. I don't know the details because I did not take the case.
The other consideration, is depending on which country you are in, the United Kingdom for example, has a corporate manslaughter act where management can be held criminally liable and imprisoned. This was established in 2008 in the U.K. I just returned from there last week and was discussing this with one of my U.K. colleagues who is involved with such a case right now.
However, under "normal" situations I agree with Paul's assessment.