Injury Prevention Overview

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Successful Loss Prevention

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Loss Prevention Programs

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Safety Committees

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Accident Analysis

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Safety Resources

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Safety Committees

Organizing or re-energizing a safety committee can protect your business from avoidable costs that directly affect your bottom line.

A safety committee can:

• Show upper management's concern for employees' well-being
• Make workplace safety a more formalized commitment
• Allow employees to identify and address safety issues
• Increase employees' safety awareness
• Save time and money by improving work activities
• Make management aware of safety issues
• Reduce the risk of OSHA citations or other state penalties

Who is required to have a safety committee?

In Minnesota, the law requires employers with more than 25 employees to establish a joint labor-management safety and health committee for their workplace. Employers with 25 employees or fewer may still be required to maintain a committee, depending on the company's safety record and industry.

View more safety committee information on the Minnesota Department of Labor website (PDF) 

For all other states, verify if a safety committee is required with your regional OSHA office. In states not required by law to have a safety committee, it is still a good idea to have one.

Committee functions

• Conduct regularly scheduled meetings
• Review incidents that resulted in injury or illness, and any "near misses"
• Take action to correct identified hazards
• Gather safety-related suggestions from employees
• Conduct visual surveys of the workplace to identify concerns
• Promote safety and first-aid training

Avoid these top 10 safety committee mistakes

1. Roles are not clearly defined
2. Inadequate size of the committee--too big or too small
3. Lack of new member training
4. No formalized meeting agenda
5. Lack of follow-up
6. Lack of communication
7. Management domination
8. Lack of employee participation
9. Unable to adapt to change
10. Lack of budget

View full detail on safety committees (PDF) 

For specific questions or assistance organizing a safety committee, call your SFM Loss Prevention representative at (952) 838-4200 or (800) 937-1181.

Related SFM resources Safety Committees CompTalk Safety Committees 5-minute solution These resources, plus more on other topics, are available in SFM’s Resource Catalog.