Occupational Safety and Health Act

OSHA

Discussion Points

• Purpose and Scope of OSHA• CFR Titles, Parts, Subparts – The Code• Parts 1903, 1904, 1910• Resources

Purpose and Scope

The Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and HealthAct of 1970 requires, in part, that every employercovered under the Act furnish to his employees,employment and a place of employment which are freefrom recognized hazards that are causing or are likelyto cause death or serious physical harm to hisemployees.

The Requirement

• Employers comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under the Act, and that employees comply with standards, rules, regulations and orders issued under the Act which are applicable to their own actions and conduct.

Authorization

The Act authorizes the Department ofLabor to conduct inspections, and toissue citations and proposed penalties foralleged violations.

Let’s Break Down the Code

The CFR’s are broken down into:

• Titles• Parts• Subparts• Sections

CFR Titles

The Federal Code of Regulations contains 50 Titles,numerically indexed as 1 to 50. All are contained in theFederal Register.

Examples: Title 1 - General Provisions Title 2 - Reserved Title 3 - The President Title 17 - Commodity and Securities Title 29 - Labor Title 49 - Transportation Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries

Parts

The Titles are broken down into “Parts.” Examples: Title 29 – Part 1910 – General Industry Regulations

This is the “Part” that pertains to your safety program.

Subparts

Parts are further broken down into “Subparts.”Since 29 CFR 1910 “Subparts” A to Z pertain to us, letslook at it. Within 29 CFR 1910, we break down areas ofcompliance into “Subparts.”

Example: Subpart A - General Subpart D - Walking and Working Surfaces Subpart I - Personal Protective Equipment Subpart L - Fire Protection

Sections

Subparts are further broken down into“Sections.” This is the basic unit of the CFR.

Example: 29 CFR 1910 Subpart L – Fire Protection “Section 157” pertains to Portable Fire Extinguishers.

It would be referenced as: 29 CFR 1910.157Generally the “Subpart” will not be listed in a reference.

29 CFR 1903, 1904 and 1910

• The three Parts under Title 29 that mainly pertain to what you do is:

• 1903 – Inspections, Citations, & Proposed Penalties

• 1904 – Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illness

• 1910 – Occupational Safety and Health Standards

Part 1903

Under the Act, “upon presenting appropriate credentialsto the owner, operator or agent in charge,” an OSHAcompliance officer is authorized to:

• “Enter without delay and at reasonable times any factory, plant, establishment, construction site or other areas, workplace, or environment where work is performed by an employee of an employer; and to

• “Inspect and investigate during regular working hours and at other reasonable times, and reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, any such place of employment and all pertinent conditions, structures, machines, apparatus, devices, equipment and materials therein, and to question privately any such employer, owner, operator agent or employees.”

Inspections are conducted without advance notice.

Inspection Priorities

• Imminent Danger –

Imminent danger situations are given top priority. Imminent danger is any condition where there is reasonable certainty that a danger exists that can be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately, or before the danger can be eliminated through normal enforcement procedures.

• Catastrophes and Fatal Accidents – Second priority is given to investigation of fatalities

and catastrophes resulting in hospitalization of three or more employees. Such situations must be reported to OSHA by the employer within 8 hours. Investigations are made to determine if OSHA standards were violated and to avoid recurrence of similar accidents.

• Employee Complaints –

The third priority is given to employee complaints of alleged violation of standards or of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.

• Programmed High-Hazard Inspections –

Next priority are programmed, or planned inspections aimed at specific high-hazard industries, occupations or health substances. Industries are selected for inspection on the basis of factors such as death,

injury and illness incidence rates, and employee exposure to toxic substances.

Citations

After the compliance officer reports the findings, theOSHA Area Director determines what citations, if anywill be issued, and what penalties, if any, will beproposed. Citations inform the employer and employeesof the regulations and standards alleged to have beenviolated and the proposed length of time set for theirabatement. The employer will receive citations andnotices of proposed penalties be certified mail. Theemployer must post a copy of each citation at or nearthe place a violation occurred for three days or until theviolation is abated, whichever is longer.

Penalties

• Other Than Serious Violation –

A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm. A proposed penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation is discretionary. A penalty for an other-than-serious violation may be adjusted downward by as much as 95% depending on the employer’s good faith history of previous violations, and size of business. When the adjusted penalty amounts to less than $100, no penalty is proposed.

• Serious Violation –

A violation where there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew, or should have known of the hazard. A mandatory penalty of up to $7000 for each violation is proposed. A penalty for a serious violation may be adjusted downward, based on the employer’s good faith, history or previous violations, the gravity of the alleged violation and the size of the business.

• Willful Violation –

A violation that the employer knowingly commits or commits with plain indifference to the law. The employer either knows that what he or she is doing constitutes a violation, or is aware that a hazardous condition existed and made no reasonable effort to eliminate it. Penalties up to $70,000 may be proposed for each willful violation, with a minimum penalty of $5,000 for each violation. A proposed penalty for a willful violation may be adjusted downward, depending on the size of the business and it’s history of previous violations. Usually, no credit is given for good faith.

Willful Violation cont.

If an employer is convicted of a willful violationof a standard that has resulted in the death ofan employee, the offense is punishable by acourt-imposed fine or by imprisonment for up tosix months, or both. A fine of up to $250,000 foran individual, or up to $500,000 for acorporation, may be imposed for a criminalconviction.

• Repeated Violation –

A violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order where, upon re-inspection, a substantially similar violation can bring a fine of up to $70,000 for each violation. To be the basis of a repeated citation, the original citation must be final; a citation under contest may not serve as the basis for a subsequent repeated citation.

• Failure to Abate Prior Violation –

Failure to abate a prior violation may bring a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each day the violation continues beyond the prescribed abatement date.

Other Violations• Falsifying records, reports or applications can bring a

fine of $10,000 or up to six months in jail, or both.

• Violations of posting requirements can bring a civil penalty of up to $7,000

• Assaulting a compliance officer, or otherwise resisting, opposing, intimidating, or interfering with a compliance officer while they are engaged in the performance of their duties is a criminal offense, subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 and imprisonment for not more than three years.

• De Minimis Violation

De minimis violations are violations of standards which have no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Whenever de minimis conditions are found during an inspection, they are documented in the same way as any other violation, but are not included on the citation.

Example of A De Minimis Violation

• 29 CFR 1910.27 (b) (1) allows 12 inches maximum distance between ladder rungs. Where the rungs are 13 inches apart, the condition is de minimis.

Appeal• By employee – If an inspection was initiated due to an employee

complaint, the employee or authorized employee representative may request an informal review of any decision not to issue a citation.

• By employer – When issued a citation or notice of a proposed

penalty, an employer may request an informal meeting with OSHA’s area director to discuss the case.

Part 1904

• Purpose – The purpose of Part 1904 is to require

employers to record and report work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses.

Recording or reporting a work-relatedinjury, illness, or fatality does not meanthat the employer or employee was atfault, that an OSHA rule has beenviolated, or that the employee is eligiblefor workers compensation or otherbenefits.

Forms Used• 300 Log – Used to record injuries or illnesses • 300A – Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses Posted from Feb. 1 to April 30 of the following year• 301 – Injuries and Illness Incident Report

Who Is Required To ReportIf your company had 10 or fewer employees atall times during the last calendar year, you donot need to keep OSHA injury and illnessrecords unless OSHA or the BLS informs you inwriting that you must keep records. However,as required by 1904.39, all employers coveredby the OSH Act must report to OSHA anyworkplace incident that results in a fatality or thehospitalization of three or more employees.

Partially Exempt IndustriesEmployers are not required to keep OSHA injury and illness records for certainestablishments classified by their StandardIndustrial Classification (SIC) codes, unlessasked in writing by OSHA to do so.

ExamplesSIC Code Industry525 Hardware Stores542 Meat and Fish Markets793 Bowling Centers81 Legal Offices724 Barber Shops

Where Do You Record Injuries?

OSHA has a form called the 300 Log.Your Safety Coordinator is responsible forcompleting the log for each injury orillness that is deemed “recordable.”

Not all injuries are recordables. There is criteria that must be met to be arecordable.

What Is A “Recordable”To be an OSHA recordable, the injurymust meet the following criteria.

• Death• Days away from work• Restricted work or transfer to another job• Loss of consciousness• A significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician

or other licensed health care professional• Medical treatment beyond first aid

What is Considered “First Aid”• Using a non-prescription medication at

non-prescription strength• Administering tetanus immunizations• Cleaning, flushing or soaking wounds

on the surface of the skin• Using wound coverings such as

bandages, band-aids, gauze pads or using butterfly or steri-strips

cont.

What is Considered “First Aid”• Using hot or cold therapy• Using any non-rigid means of support,

such as elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts

• Using temporary immobilization devices while transporting accident victims

• Drilling of a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure

• Using eye patches cont.

What is Considered “First Aid”

• Removing splinters or foreign material from areas other than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs or other simple means

• Using finger guards• Using massages• Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress

Part 191029 CFR 1910 is the Occupational Safetyand Health Standard for General Industry.These are the rules and regulations thatwe follow to keep our workers safe.

Subparts

Within 1910 there are 26 Subparts A to ZEach Subpart pertains to a differentfunction of general industry.

ExamplesSubparts:• A – General• D – Walking and Working Surfaces• E – Means of Egress• H – Hazardous Materials• I – Personal Protective Equipment• L – Fire Protection cont.

• N – Materials Handling and Storage• O – Machinery and Machine Guarding• Q – Welding, Cutting, and Brazing

Resources

www.osha.gov