Inspections from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can be a jarring experience, and if you don't know your rights, you may end up with expensive fines and citations, or worse.

In this episode of the Best of Success Podcast Show, RC Publisher Jill Bloom sat down with Trent Cotney, partner at Adams and Reese, to discuss a new project Cotney is working on to help contractors when OSHA unexpectedly shows up on the job site.

Cotney says that you want to cooperate with OSHA, but you should also know what your rights are so you do not make a mistake that could hurt you down the road.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure you understand the process of when OSHA comes out [to your job site],” Cotney says. “Obviously, you tell the truth; obviously, you cooperate, but what we want to make sure you’re doing is asserting your rights because OSHA won’t necessarily tell you what your rights are.”

Beyond knowing what your rights are, Adams and Reese is working to help contractors be prepared for when OSHA shows up. They are working on a “cheat sheet” with tips that contractors can carry around with them.

“We look to create a standard operating procedure of what to do when OSHA shows up at a job site,” Cotney says. “And it’s very detailed and it goes through everything from make sure you’re contacting the office [to] make sure that a representative that’s knowledgeable comes out [to] make sure that you’re taking photographs and doing things that you need to to preserve evidence.”

View the full video here, or visit our podcast page to download the episode and listen on the go.