INFORMATION DATE 19920814
DESCRIPTION USDOL Program Highlights, State Job Safety and Health Programs
TOPIC Safety and Health Programs
SUBJECT State Job Safety and Health Programs
ABSTRACT The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health plans. OSHA approves and monitors states' plans and provides up to 50 percent of an approved plan's operating costs. States must set job safety and health standards at least as effective as comparable federal standards. Most states adopt standards identical to federal ones. A state must conduct inspections to enforce its standards, cover state and municipal employees, and operate occupational safety and health training and education programs. Anyone finding inadequacies or other problems in the administration of a state's program may file a complaint with the appropriate regional administrator for OSHA.
U.S. Department of Labor
Program Highlights
Fact Sheet No. OSHA 92-15
STATE JOB SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAMS
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health plans. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) approves and monitors states' plans and provides up to 50% of an approved plan's operating costs.
States must set job safety and health standards at least as effective as comparable federal standards. (Most states adopt standards identical to federal ones.) States have the option to promulgate standards covering hazards not addressed by federal standards.
A state must conduct inspections to enforce its standards, cover state and municipal employees, and operate occupational safety and health training and education programs. In addition, most states provide free consultation to help employers identify and correct workplace hazards.
To gain OSHA approval for a 'developmental plan,' the first step in the state plan process, a state must assure OSHA that within three years it will have in place all the structural elements necessary for an effective occupational safety and health program. These elements include: appropriate legislation; procedures for standard setting, enforcement, appeal of citations and penalties; and a sufficient number of competent enforcement personnel.
There are currently 23 states or jurisdictions operating complete state plans (covering both the private sector and state and local government employees) and two, Connecticut and New York, which cover public employees only. Eight other states were approved at one time but subsequently withdrew their programs.
Once a state has completed and documented all its developmental steps, it is eligible for certification. Certification renders no judgment as to actual state performance, but merely attests to the structural completeness of the plan.
At any time after plan approval, when it appears that the state is capable of independently enforcing standards, OSHA may sign an 'operational status agreement' with the state. This commits OSHA to voluntarily limit discretionary federal enforcement in all or certain activities covered by the state plan.
The ultimate accreditation of a state's plan is called 'final approval.' When OSHA grants final approval to a state, it relinquishes its authority to cover occupational safety and health matters covered by the state. After at least one year following certification, the state becomes eligible for final approval if OSHA determines that it is providing worker protection 'at least as effective' as the protection provided by the federal program. The state also must meet 100 percent of the established compliance staffing levels (benchmarks) and participate in OSHA's computerized inspection data system, the Integrated Information Management System (IMIS), before OSHA can grant final approval. The following 14 states have received final approval: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and Wyoming.
Anyone finding inadequacies or other problems in the administration of a state's program may file a complaint with the appropriate regional administrator for OSHA. The complainant's name is kept confidential. OSHA investigates all such complaints, and, where complaints are found to be valid, requires appropriate corrective action on the part of the state.
This is one of a series of fact sheets highlighting U.S. Department of Labor programs. It is intended as a general description only and does not carry the force of legal opinion.