In situations where the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not developed specific standards for a hazard, employers are responsible for complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)). The General Duty Clause states that each employer must furnish “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.”

Where OSHA inspectors find workplace hazards that are not addressed in the regulations, they may cite the employer under the General Duty Clause. Examples include:

• Ergonomics hazards,
• Outdoor or indoor heat-related hazards,
• Work violence hazards,
• Certain infectious disease hazards,
• Indoor air quality,
• Conveyor hazards, and
• Storage rack hazards.

• OSHA relies on the General Duty Clause when employees are exposed to a recognized hazard in the workplace, but there is no specific OSHA standard under which to cite the employer.

The following elements are necessary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to support a General Duty Clause violation:

• Employees are exposed to a hazard;
• The hazard is recognized, which can come from many forms, including industry recognition or the employer’s own recognition because of previous injuries;
• The hazard is likely to cause death or serious physical harm; and
• There is a feasible and useful method to correct the hazard.

OSHA’s Field Operations Manual describes the four criteria in greater detail, along with examples, limitations of use, and more.

• When issuing a General Duty Clause citation, OSHA relies on other industry standards as a reference point for the employer to know how to correct the hazard.

When issuing a General Duty Clause citation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will often list a feasible way for the employer to correct the hazard by complying with another consensus standard. A good example of this is inspecting and maintaining storage racks. OSHA doesn’t have a specific standard requiring this, but the agency regularly cites the American National Standards Institute/Rack Manufacturers Institute (ANSI/RMI) MH 16.1, an industry standard for industrial steel storage racks. Following is an actual example of an OSHA citation issued in this way:

• “OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to a potential struck by hazard: a) ... Steel storage racks were not equipped with weight capacity markings, structural columns had minor damage and multiple sections of racking were not bolted to the floor, as observed on or about August 18, 2020. ABATEMENT NOTE: Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable method to correct this hazard is to follow the requirements set forth in ANSI MH16.1 Specifications for the Design, Testing and Utilization of Industrial Steel Storage Racks. Abatement Certification Required.”

OSHA uses a similar process where an OSHA standard exists but doesn’t specifically address a particular safety aspect. For example, for emergency eyewashes/showers, OSHA has a standard that requires such equipment be present when workers are exposed to corrosives. However, the OSHA standard doesn’t address the design of the eyewash/shower, flow rates, volume, etc. When issuing citations for inadequate eyewash/shower equipment, OSHA refers to the ANSI Z358.1 standard as a means to support those citations.