Safety Committee Meetings Requirements with Advantages and Best Practices

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) doesn’t require companies and organizations to have safety committees. Still, they must meet intricate state-level requirements for safety committees and meetings. That is why this article explores general and state-specific safety committee meeting requirements. Keep reading to learn the following:

1. Understand the purposes of safety committee meetings
2. Compare requirements for safety committees in all 50 states
3. Follow five steps to secure and productive safety committee meetings

What is a safety committee meeting?

A safety committee meeting addresses workplace health and safety matters. Committee members and executives gather for the following purposes.

Purpose	Specifics
Safety compliance	Updating health and safety practices Supervising workplace safety Navigating regulatory standards Collaborating with an advisory committee on compliance practices
Safety protocols, policies, and procedures	Updating safety policies and procedures Ensuring continuous improvement Consulting with a remuneration committee on fair compensation of employee representatives Developing nomination guidelines with the nomination committee
Risk assessment	Detecting safety hazards Developing corrective actions Collaborating with an audit committee Collaborating with authorities
Education and training	Promoting safety awareness and preventing injuriesDeveloping educational plans and initiativesSupervising safety trainingSupporting safety initiatives through a fundraising committee

Safety committee meeting requirements

While a specific safety committee requirement varies on the state level, let’s outline a few key points:

Safety committee plan

Twenty-four states require companies to have safety committee plans and outline general safety committee meeting topics. Let’s explore key elements of safety plans (general aspects).

Specifics	Safety plan requirements
Responsibilities	Individuals responsible for developing, maintaining, and executing the plan
Workplace safety system	The nature and schedule of safety inspections Hazard identification techniques Corrective methods, procedures, and schedules (safety controls)
Training	The nature, scope, and content of safety training programs Training methods, procedures, and schedules Ongoing safety education initiatives
Communication system	Safety communication channels Incident reporting practices
Compliance system	Compliance mechanisms and disciplinary measures

Record keeping

Safety committees must keep meeting minutes, board books, and other records for 1-5 years. The OSHA has a default retention requirement of 5 years.  Once the retention period ends, records may be purged. The following records must be retained according to state and federal OSHA requirements:

1. Safety committee meeting agendas
2. Safety committee meeting minutes
3. Meeting attendance lists
4. Investigation reports
5. Incident reports
6. Training records
7. Audit reports

Record-keeping requirements may apply to other records, such as compliance reports, safety data sheets, and safety drill records. 

Some documents and resources may not fall under retention requirements. In Louisiana, for instance, employers are not required to keep cost containment procedures, incentive programs, and performance evaluations. The rule of thumb is to retain all safety documentation for a legally required period. Contact your regional OSHA office to understand the requirements for our organization.

Safety committee meeting members

Safety committees must represent key individuals:

• Employer members: Company representatives and supervisory employees.
• Employee members: Nonsupervisory employees that represent the company’s workforce.

A safety committee must have at least three members, and at least one committee member must represent the workforce. However, that varies from state to state. 

In Connecticut, for instance, safety committees must have equal seats for employer and employee representatives. They can also have more employee representatives than employer members. It’s common when safety committee members are appointed by company employees rather than a chairperson.

Safety committee meeting frequency

Safety committees can gather as frequently as required for effective workplace management but not less than quarterly.

In high-risk workplaces, safety committees must conduct quarterly health and safety surveys, which imply pre- and post-survey meetings. Therefore, meetings can also be monthly, biweekly, weekly, or on-demand.

Safety committee meeting requirements: State-level comparison

Let’s compare safety committee meeting requirements in all 50 United States here.

5 safety committee meeting advantages

Regular safety committee meetings bring several advantages to both employers and employees.

✔️ Benefits for employers:

1. Better compliance. Regular compliance efforts help organizations prevent legal liabilities.
2. Fewer workplace incidents. Regular improvements to safety policies minimize potential hazards and workplace incident rates.
3. Better employee morale. Employee engagement helps to address relevant employee concerns.

✔️ Benefits for employees:

4. Contribution to safety matters. Employees express safety concerns and offer practical improvement ideas.
5. Workplace safety. Employees minimize job-related health issues.

How to conduct a safety committee meeting: 5 steps

Let’s take a look at the best practices to conduct effective safety committee meetings:

Determine the schedule

Outlining the types of meetings and preferable meeting frequencies will help you keep a comfortable schedule and avoid meeting fatigue.

Preferable frequency	Meeting example
Monthly	Progress updates Project reviews Reviews of reports
Quarterly	Trend reviews Performance evaluations Training evaluations
Annually / bi-annually	Program evaluations Strategic planning Budget planning Annual reports

You can also limit safety committee meetings for workforce representatives with non supervisory job duties. The total meeting time should take no more than 20% of weekly hours for regular workers. 

Set a board portal

As much as 80% of board directors consider digital transformations at the board and committee level. Today, competitive organizations leverage board portals to make committee meetings as effective as possible. Follow these steps to choose a board portal:

1. Understand your requirements. Decide which tools and features would make a difference for your committee. Would you prefer paperless meetings, automatic meeting minutes, and electronic votes? Browse the board portal market to understand available features.
2. Select your board portal. Select a few solutions that match your preferences and budget limits. Apply for free trials to test features and select the best board portal.
3. Migrate your workflows. Invite users, upload documents, and set up meeting calendars. Configure security settings and begin preparing agendas.

Board software offers the following benefits to safety committees:

✔️ Information security. Protect sensitive records with two-factor authentication, bank-grade encryption, and granular access permissions.

✔️ Paperless workflows. Create and manage agendas, meeting minutes, calendars, tasks, and board books digitally.

✔️ Easy meetings. Streamline your meetings with electronic signatures, digital votes, and video conferences.

Compare the best board portals at Board-room.org. Check pricing, features, user testimonials, case studies, and more!

Prepare the agenda

We have a comprehensive guide on how to create a safety committee agenda. You can follow it for more details, agenda templates, and best practices. Here, however, are general recommendations for preparing meeting agendas:

• Timing. Apply time slots to agenda items and consider the importance and level of discussion. Aim at 20-30 minutes for complex topics.
• Order of discussion. Put non-negotiable, routine items higher on the agenda. Place the main topics right after and leave less important updates and organizational matters closer to the end.
• Distribution. Circulate pre-meeting materials and agendas a couple of weeks before the meeting. It will give participants enough time to prepare and engage in meaningful discussions.

Check safety committee meeting examples:

• Sample minutes of safety committee meeting by the Department of Labor and Industry.
• Safety committee minutes of meeting at Seattle Central College.
• Safety committee meeting ideas; duties, and responsibilities at Oregon State University.

Participate actively

Senior managers from various industries say over 70% of meetings are a waste of time. The most common causes are passive listening, off-topic conversations, and a lack of overall engagement. However, a few practices can help you boost participation in your safety committee meeting:

• Set SMART meeting goals. Make meeting objectives specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
• Decide whether you need a meeting. Can you achieve meeting objectives asynchronously? Don’t gather if you can. 
• Assign presenters. Assign speakers to agenda items. It will foster input from all participants and boost accountability.
• Follow Robert’s Rules of Order. Adopt motions and follow structured discussions according to Robert’s Rules.

Important: Learn how to make a motion in a board meeting. Check practical recommendations and use a free cheat sheet.

Finish the meeting

Follow these practices to finish a public safety committee meeting effectively:

• Recapitulate key decisions. Formulate achieved meeting goals, address follow-up actions, and reiterate tasks to complete after the meeting closing.
• Assign follow-up action items. Assign detailed and specific post-meeting tasks to reinforce meeting decisions. Example: “Install additional emergency lighting in the warehouse by August 4.”
• Distribute performance surveys. Emphasize multiple-choice and open-ended questions and focus on engagement, participation, and efficiency.

Bottom line

• The OSHA recommends companies have safety committees with at least three members, including at least one employee representative. 
• Safety committees are generally required for employers with at least 10-25 employees.
• Safety committees should meet at least quarterly and keep meeting records for 1-3 years.
• Competitive organizations run safety committee meetings in board portals to maximize security and productivity.