Transcript Module 3 Occupational Health Regulations

Module 3
Occupational Health
Regulations
Walsh Healey Public Contracts
Act
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1936
Applicable to federal contracts over $10K
Stipulations include:
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Minimum wages
Overtime pay
Safe and sanitary working conditions of workers
employed on the contract,
Use of child labor or convict labor on the contract work
Precursor to the Occupational Health and
Safety Act
State Responsibility
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Prior to the OSH Act, state government was
responsible for occupational health and safety
Today, state’s may choose to administer their
own health and safety programs if they are at
least as stringent as the federal program
NC is a state-plan state – state government is
responsible for health and safety
http://www.dol.state.nc.us/osha/osh.htm
OSHA
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Under the Federal OSHA Act –
Workers were guaranteed a
workplace free from recognized
health and safety hazards.
Prior to that time, there were some
states that spent as much as $2.70
per worker to provide similar worker
protection while other states spent
less than $0.01 per person.
OSH Act
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Promulgated in 1970
Administered under the Department of
Labor
“….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.”
OSH Act
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Purposes:
• Reduce workplace hazards
• Provide for occupational health research
• Develop rights of employees and employers
• Reporting and recordkeeping system
• Training programs
• Develop and enforce standards
• State occupational health programs
OSHA
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OSHA was charged by congress to
develop a comprehensive set of
health and safety regulations
(standards).
For “general industry” these
standards are found in 29 CFR
1910
OSHA hired professionals to
conduct detailed, thorough
inspections of the workplace.
• Industrial Hygienists
• Safety Engineers
OSH Standards
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General Industry (focus for this class)
Maritime
Construction
Agriculture
Standard Origins
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Consensus standards: agreed on by industry
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Proprietary Standards: developed by
professionals and voted on by industry
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National Fire Protection Association
Safe Handling of Compressed Gases
Preexisting Federal Laws
Many of the consensus standards weren’t
really meant to be laws – Congress
incorporated existing standards as a starting
point (this will become very important later…..)
Types of Standards
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Horizontal – apply to every industry
• First aid, hazard communication, fire
protection
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Vertical – only applicable to one industry
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All standards are available on OSHA’s
website www.osha.gov
• Construction
OSHA Standards
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OSHA standards are sometimes specific (such as
a standard for maintaining oxygen storage vessels)
or more general (such as a trip and fall hazards)
One particular set of OSHA standards are the
Permissible Exposure Levels (PELs) which set
workplace limits for several hundred chemicals
Example: OSHA mandates that workers not be
exposed to more than 50 parts per million of
carbon monoxide for an 8 hour, time weighted
average. (50 ppm 8-hr TWA)
Requirements
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General duty clause – Section 5 (a)(1)
“Each employer shall furnish to each of
his employees employment and a place
of employment which is free from
recognized hazards that are causing or
are likely to cause death or serious
physical harm to his employees”
Requirements
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General duty clause is used when there
is no existing specific standard for a
hazard or the hazard warrants
precautions beyond the standard
OSHA Inspections
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There are many hazardous work sites and not
nearly enough inspectors.
Inspections are prioritized:
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Imminent danger – death or immediate serious
physical harm (prevent)
Catastrophes or fatal accidents (accident has already
occurred)
Employee complaints
Programmed high hazard inspections
Follow-up inspections
Citations and Penalties
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OSHA was granted the authority to inspect workplaces and
issue citations to employers who fail to comply with OSHA
standards. Violations of standards are classified as:
• Willful
• Serious
• Other-than-Serious
• Repeat
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These citations often are accompanied by fines which range
from a few hundred dollars to 100s of thousands $$$$$
Citations and Penalties
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Willful violations: employer knew of regulation
and hazard and refused to correct
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Serious violations: Probability of death or
serious harm
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Maximum $7K
Other than serious: hazard with small
probability
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$5K - $70K
Criminal charges / jail time
Maximum $1K
2002 Enforcement Statistics
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http://www.osha-slc.gov/as/opa/oshafacts.html (scroll
down)
Top OSHA citations for hospitals
in North Carolina
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Formaldehyde
Medical Services & First Aid
Asbestos Tremolite, Anthophyllite & Actinolite
Bloodborne Pathogens
Fatality/Multiple Hospitalization Accident
Reporting
Personal Protective Equipment, General
Requirements
Eye & Face Protection
Machines, General Requirements
Question
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So why aren’t there OSHA standards for
all the workplace hazards?
And why aren’t some of the standards
adequately protective?
Answer
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Consider ergonomics
Read the following:
OSHA takes another shot at standardizing
ergonomics. (Located in course module
readings)
The general duty clause is used today to
cite ergonomic issues
OSHA is developing industry guidelines and
online tools, but no standard (law) to cover
ergonomics specifically
Employer Responsibilities
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Know the applicable standards and
comply (eliminate or reduce hazard)
Provide warning of potential hazards
Provide training
Keep required records
Access to medical and exposure records
Employee Responsibilities
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Comply with all OSHA standards
Follow employer rules and regulations
Wear appropriate personal protective
equipment
Report hazardous conditions to
supervisor
Report job-related injury or illness
Whistleblowers
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Workers have the right to complain to OSHA
and seek an OSHA inspection without fear of
reprisal or discrimination including:
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Firing, demotion, transfer, layoff, losing opportunity for
overtime or promotion, exclusion from normal overtime
work, assignment to an undesirable shift, denial of
benefits such as sick leave or vacation time,
blacklisting with other employers, taking away
company housing, damaging credit at banks or credit
unions and reducing pay or hours.
Whirlpool Supreme Court Case
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Right of worker to refuse hazardous work
You can’t just walk off the job –
Your right to refuse to do a task is protected if all of the
following conditions are met:
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Ask the employer to eliminate the danger, and the employer
failed to do so; and
You refused to work in "good faith“ - genuinely believe that
an imminent danger exists. Your refusal cannot be a
disguised attempt to harass your employer or disrupt
business; and
A reasonable person would agree that there is a real danger
of death or serious injury; and
There isn't enough time, due to the urgency of the hazard,
to get it corrected through regular enforcement channels,
such as requesting an OSHA inspection.
Other Agencies of OSH Act
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National Institute of Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH)
• Part of Centers for Disease Control and
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Prevention (CDC)
Research and training
Develop and recommend standards to OSHA
NIOSH
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Also in 1970, Congress created the
National Institutes for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH)
NIOSH is created to provide research
and training.
This research was intended to assist
OSHA with the development of their
standards
NIOSH is NOT a regulatory agency
Other Agencies of OSH Act
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Occupational Health and Safety Review
Commission (OSHRC)
• Independent judicial board who hears OSHA
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appeal cases
Appointed by President and Senate
Other important groups
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American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)
• Publishes Threshold Limit Values –
recommendations for physical, chemical, and
radiological hazards based on review by
experts and scientists (not politicians) and are
reviewed and updated annually
• Remember the ergonomics standard problems??
• http://www.acgih.org/home.htm
Permissible Exposure Limits
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Based upon the 1968
American Conference of
Governmental Industrial
Hyginists (ACGIH) –
Threshold Limit Values
(TLVs)
Unfortunately, many OSHA
PELs have not been updated
while the ACGIH TLVs are
updated yearly.