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What is OSHA
Introduction to OSHA
hObjectives – enable the student to:
– recognize major provisions of the OSH Act;
– identify key phases of an OSHA inspection;
– locate OSHA standards;
– recognize employer responsibilities at multi-employer
worksites (typical of construction sites);
– develop a general understanding of 29 CFR Part 1926
standards, especially in regards to what constitutes “Competent
Persons” & “Qualified Persons”; and
– understand how to respond appropriately to an OSHA
inspection
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Before OSH Act
• Safety legislation was traditionally the jurisdiction of individual
states
– Before the 1960’s there were few federal laws regarding
occupational safety
– What laws did exist were limited in scope
– There was a realization that state jurisdictions were not
getting it done
• Deaths, disabilities, and occupational disease rates increased
through the 1960’s
• The perception developed that an all encompassing safety law
was needed
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The OSH ACT
• This act along with the Mine Safety Act (1977) have been
identified as the most significant occupational safety legislation
enacted in the United States
• The OSH Act is identified as public law (PL) 91-596
• Became law December 29, 1970 and was signed by President
Nixon
• The law became effective April 28, 1971
• The OSH Act is also known as the Williams-Steiger Act
(senator & congressman that authored the legislation)
• The OSH Act represents landmark legislation in that it considers
both present workplace conditions and long term workplace
hazards
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The OSH Act established:
•
•
•
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) which
– promulgates standards and oversees enforcement
– serves as an administration located in Department of Labor (DOL)
– has the Secretary Of Labor serving in the ultimate oversight capacity
• the Assistant Secretary Of Labor for OSHA is the administrator of
OSHA
National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health Research (NIOSH)
– This is an institute located within Department of Health & Human Services
(DHHS)
Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC)
– This is a three-member panel appointed by President, and confirmed by
senate
– The Commission reviews contested citations
– It is an independent agency within the executive branch
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OSHA Purpose & Mission
Purpose
• “To assure so far as possible every working man and
woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions
and to preserve our human resources.”
Mission
• “ . . . To save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health of
America’s workers.”
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Sister Agencies
•
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
– NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and is the
only federal Institute responsible for conducting research and making
recommendations for the prevention of work-related illnesses and
injuries.
•
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC)
– An independent federal agency created to decide contested citations or
penalties resulting from OSHA inspections of American work places.
The Review Commission, therefore, functions as an administrative
court, with established procedures for conducting hearings, receiving
evidence and rendering decisions by its Administrative Law Judges
(ALJs).
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The OSHA act covers:
• Every employer with 11+ employees who are engaged in
business affecting interstate commerce in
– the 50 states
– the District of Columbia
– Puerto Rico
– all US possessions
• Collectively the federal safety legislation enacted prior to
1970 did not apply to most employers or employees
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OSH Act Exceptions
• The self-employed
• Family farms employing only immediate family members
• Federal agencies covered by other statutes
– OSHA evaluates other agency programs, but can’t assess
fines
– examples: DOT regulations and the railroad industry
• For state and local governments:
– plans must be OSHA-approved
– public employees in states without approved plans aren’t
covered by OSHA in any way
• Mines and mineworkers:
– covered by US Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977
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In general exceptions don’t apply when:
• employee complaints are filed;
• referrals are made;
• health hazards and fatalities occur; or
• the hospitalization of 3+ employees
Highway transportation related preemptions [reference 4(b)(1)]
• FMCSA
• FHWA
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State Plan States
• States may assume responsibility for
enforcing occupational safety and health
regulations in lieu of federal OSHA
• State must issue and enforce standards
that are substantially equal to the federal
standards
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OSHA Regions - Ohio
Northeast Ohio - The Cleveland Area Office
Southeast Ohio - The Columbus Area Office
Northwest Ohio - The Toledo Area Office
Southwest Ohio - The Cincinnati Area Office
The State of Ohio falls under OSHA's Region 5 which
includes Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio - some of these are federal states and some are
state plan states.
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Who Is Accountable to OSHA?
• An EMPLOYER is defined as a person engaged in a
business affecting commerce who has employees; it does
not include the United States or other government entities.
• An EMPLOYEE is defined as a person employed by an
employer who affects commerce.
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What Does OSHA Do?
• Develop standards
• Inspect employers
• Investigate injuries and fatalities
• Issue citations and impose penalties (financial or criminal)
• Assist in occupational safety and health training
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How Does OSHA Create Standards?
• Adoption of existing industry consensus standards, a
controversial example is the adoption by OSHA of the
MUTCD.
• Rulemaking
• Emergency Temporary Standards
• Grant variances – Can be granted if employer is unable to
comply by effective date of standard. Employer must comply
until a decision has been made, unless issued an interim order
releasing employer from obligation to comply until decision is made.
Employees must be informed of all variances, interim orders
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Types of Variances
Temporary: employer will eventually comply
– employer must demonstrate efforts to comply
– details must be clearly stated in application
– granted for 1 year max; renewable twice, 6 months max
Permanent: employer feels the need to exceed requirements of a new
standard
– OSHA inspects, either awards or denies variance
– must live up to responsibilities or variance may be revoked
Special Variances:
– Experimental where companies participating in pilot programs to
test effectiveness of new S&H procedures
– National defense when variance is in best interest of US national
defense
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Process for Standard Adoption, Amendment, or Revocation
Notice is given
– in the Congressional Federal Register (CFR) of proposed
rule, change in rule, or revocation of rule
2. Public Hearing
– if requested; hearing is announced in the CFR
3. Publish Final Standard
– full final text of standard in the CFR
– effective date is stipulated
– explanation of, reasons for the standard are given
OSHA standards can be found at (www.osha.gov)
1.
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OSHA Standards
29 CFR 1926.600-606
Title
Part
(1926 = Construction)
Section
(Individual number)
Code of
Federal
Regulations
Subpart
(Grouping of Sections, 600-606
Subpart O, Motor Vehicles and
Mechanized Equipment)
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Types of OSHA Standards
OSHA enacts two types of standards for the workplace
• Safety Standards
– protect employees from safety hazards, e.g., slips, falls,
laceration and amputation from machinery, fire hazards
• Health Standards
– will dictate measurements for worker exposure to
hazardous agent often potential for long-term health effects,
e.g., lead, noise, asbestos, radiation, etc.
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Types of OSHA Standards
• Specification & Performance Standards
– Specification Standards dictate “How” AND “What.”
These standards establish specific methods used for
hazard abatement. Example: the guardrail standard (29
CFR 1910.23).
– Performance Standards dictate “How” NOT “What.”
These standards are goal-oriented, but they do not
specify how the goal is achieved. Typically they are
vague, broad, and allow employees greater flexibility in
complying with the standard. Performance standards are
usually preferable to a specification standards.
Examples: personal protective equipment (PPE)
standards
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Types of OSHA Standards
• Horizontal & Vertical Standards
– Horizontal standards apply across industry lines. They are
applicable to general industry and apply to all covered
employees. The HazCom standard (29 CFR 1910.1200)
and the General industry standards (29 CFR 1910) are
examples of horizontal standards
– Vertical standards apply within a specific industry. They
tend to cover many of the same hazards as in horizontal
standards. There are many industry-specific hazards.
From OSHA’s perspective vertical standards take
precedence over horizontal standards. If no vertical
standard exists, then the horizontal standard applies.
Example: Construction standards (29 CFR 1926)
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Types of OSHA Standards
• Consensus Standards
– Consensus standards have been developed by nationally
recognized standard producing organizations with expertise
in a given field (ANSI, ASTM, etc.).
– These standards are recommendations, not law unless
adopted, implemented by a regulatory agency
– Section 6(a) standards existed in 1971, and were adopted as
is by OSHA. They include ACGIH 1968 TLVs and all
ANSI standards.
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What Authority Does OSHA
Have at a Construction Site?
• Inspect
• Issue Citations
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Inspections
• Enter a work area without delay, at reasonable times
• Inspect during regular work hours and privately question
employers and employees
• Subpoena company records
• Require recordkeeping and posting of information
• Maintain an employees right to complain without retribution
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Citations
• Cite for violations of OSHA standards or general duty
clause (5(a)(1))
• When issuing a citation, OSHA must ensure that:
– The citation is in writing
– It describes the particular violation and applicable
standard or authority
– The citation is posted
– A reasonable abatement period is attached to the
citation
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Employer and Employee Rights
• Employers have the right to contest all
aspects of a citation.
• Employees only have a right to contest the
time period fixed for abating the hazard.
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Penalties
• Willful or Repeated violations can lead to
penalties up to $70,000 per violation with a
minimum of $5,000 for a willful violation
• Serious and “Other than Serious” violations can
be penalized to a maximum of $7,000 per
violation
• Failure to abate a hazard can lead to a maximum
of $7,000 per day for each day the violation
continues
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Penalties (continued)
• Advance notice of an inspection without authority, a
maximum of $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6
months
• False statements, representation or certification on
documents maintained as required by the OSH Act,
maximum of $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 6
months
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Inspection Process
• Opening Conference
• Walk Around
• Closing Conference
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What Will the Inspector Ask About & Ask For?
• Does employer have a Safety & Health Program (NOT
REQUIRED IN WRITING)
• Employee Records
• Specific and Recognized Standards Violations
• Multi-Employer Issues
• Trained Personnel
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Multi-Employer Policy
The entities that are responsible on a multi-employer job sites:
• Employer with employees exposed to hazards
• Employer who creates hazards
• Employer who is responsible
• The employer who has the responsibility for actually
correcting the hazard
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Multi-Employer Policy
OSHA Considerations
Questions asked in evaluating the hazard:
• Did the employer create the hazard?
• Did the employer have the responsibility or authority to
correct the hazard? (always “yes”)
• Did the employer have the ability to correct or remove
the hazard? (nearly always “yes”)
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Multi-Employer Policy - OSHA Considerations
• Did the employer notify the other responsible employers about
the hazard to which its employees were exposed?
• Did the employer instruct its employees to recognize the
hazard and
– take steps to remove its employees from exposure, or
– in extreme cases, remove its employees from the job?
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Required Personnel
(Key OSHA Terms)
• Competent Person
• Qualified Person
• Designated Person
• Authorized Person
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Competent Person
• Capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and
hazardous working conditions; and
• Has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to
eliminate them
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Qualified Person
• One who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate,
or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge,
training, and experience, has proven the ability to solve
and resolve work-related problems…..
Typically all union employees receive training and would be
considered “qualified.”
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Authorized Person
• A person approved or assigned by the employer to perform a
specific type of duty or duties, or be at a specific location or
locations at the jobsite
• (Same definition for Designated Person)
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Can I Reduce My Liability?
• Focused Inspection in Construction
– Under development for the road construction
industry
– Some program work underway in OSHA’s Region V
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Focused Inspections for Roadway Construction Industry
• Elements of Focused Inspection in roadway construction
are likely to include general construction elements, plus
– Focus on Heavy Equipment and Trucks
– Exposures to Lead (paint) and Crystalline Silica
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