Section 350.70  Representatives of Employers and Employees

a)         A representative of the employer and a representative authorized by the employees shall be given an opportunity to accompany the inspection officer during the physical inspection of any workplace for the purpose of aiding in the inspection.  The officer shall permit additional employer and employee representatives to accompany him or her during the inspection when the officer finds that additional representatives will not interfere with the inspection and will further aid in the inspection.  The officer shall allow different individuals to serve as employer and employee representatives during different phases of the inspection, upon request by the employer or employees.

b)         If the inspection officer is unable to determine who has been authorized to serve as the representative of the employees or, if an employee representative is not available, the officer shall consult with a representative number of employees concerning safety and health matters in the workplace.

c)         The representative of the employees shall be an employee of the employer, unless the inspection officer determines that a non-employee has been appropriately authorized by the employees and that the non-employee has specialized skill and knowledge that will be useful in the inspection.  The non-employees may include, but are not limited to, industrial hygienists, union representatives or safety engineers.

d)         The officer shall deny the right of accompaniment under this Section to any individual whose conduct is abusive or obstructive, or similarly interferes with a fair and orderly inspection.

e)         Participants are required to provide any information in their possession or under their control upon request of the inspection officer to assist in the inspection.  All participants shall answer truthfully all questions posed to them and shall cooperate fully in the making of a proper inspection.  Under Section 2.6 of the Safety Inspection and Education Act, it is a Class 4 felony to provide false information during the inspection process.