Washington — OSHA has up to date its inside guidance on communicating with the families of employees killed on the job. 

In impact since Aug. 26, the educational directive particulars how the company can guarantee it “communicates its fatality inspection procedures to the fallen worker’s family and facilitates the exchange of information throughout the entire inspection process and settlement or final order of any citation(s) issued.”

Among the adjustments:

• Updates to a number of definitions, together with “next of kin,” in addition to the addition of phrases corresponding to “national family liaison” and “OSHA representative”
• Ways to determine and the overall order of subsequent of kin
• The variety of phases of interplay and guidance on how one can decide subsequent of kin
• The preliminary communication order
• Follow-up communications
• Post-inspection communications
• Final order/closing communication part added to the interplay and communication order with subsequent of kin
• Communication with the nationwide household liaison

“Historically, OSHA has communicated with surviving family members both to express sympathy, to gather information about the deceased, and to explain OSHA’s role and process,” the directive states. “This instruction guides the communication with next of kin to ensure they are treated with the utmost respect.”