The OSHA inspector(s) will ask to speak with employees that have been injured, are witnesses to an injury, or any employees who have been exposed to dangerous hazards. The compliance officer is gathering evidence on how an injury happened and how many employees were injured, or how workers have been trained, procedures they follow, etc. Some officers will interview employees while they are doing the walkaround. Other inspectors will wait until the walkaround is finished to conduct interviews. In either case, the employer will not be allowed to be present during the employee interviews. Under the OSH Act, OSHA inspectors have the authority to interview employees privately.

The inspector will determine who to interview from the OSHA 300 logs or the walkaround. During the walkaround, the officer should have given the employer a heads up as to which employees he or she will want to interview. Otherwise, the officer will ask the employer for permission to speak with specific employees once the walkaround is completed. If the employees to be interviewed are not at the facility, the officer can arrange to come back to do interviews at a different time or notify the employer that he or she will interview the missing employee(s) over the phone.