Some medical offices are of the opinion that the practice of using safe needles is a bother. What does OSHA say? The use of safety needles is not optional, and the employer is responsible to ensure their use or provide detailed documentation on the rare occasions when available safety devices are not used. Practitioner preference is generally not an excuse for failure to use engineering controls.
If you have staff not using safety needles because of
personal preference or for reasons not documented in the exposure control plan,
you face the possibility of a fine. The average initial OSHA fine for this type
of violation is $1,000.