Safety and health program

Scope

While not specifically required by federal OSHA, all employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act could benefit from implementing a safety and health program. The program would apply to hazards covered by the General Duty Clause, or Section 5(a)(1) of the Act, and by OSHA standards. For “multi-employer” worksites, programs should be coordinated and communicated to ensure that the host employer and contractor, subcontractor, or temporary staffing agency understand their respective responsibilities for controlling hazards.

Based on the growing support for safety and health programs, OSHA issued its first “Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines” in January 1989. In October 2015, OSHA updated the 1989 guidelines with two publications: OSHA 3885 “Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs”, and OSHA 3524 “Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs in Construction.” These guidelines are not standards or regulations, nor do they create an obligation under the OSH Act.

However, some state workplace safety or workers’ compensation agencies may be more stringent than federal OSHA and, in fact, require some kind of safety and health program. Employers should check the state comparison table to see whether their states require a safety and health program (or program by another name).

Regulatory citations

• 29 USC 654 — Duties of employers and employees (including Pub. L. 91–596 “OSH Act of 1970” 5(a)(1), the “General Duty Clause”)

Key definitions

• ANSI Z10: An American National Standard for the design and implementation of safety and health management systems.
• Control: To reduce exposure to hazards in accordance with the General Duty Clause or OSHA standards, including providing appropriate supplemental and/or interim protection, as necessary, to exposed employees. Prevention and elimination are the best forms of control.
• Contract employer: An employer who performs work for a host employer at the host employer’s workplace. A contract employer does not include an employer who provides incidental services that do not influence the workplace safety and health program, whose employees are only incidentally exposed to hazards at the host employer’s workplace (e.g., food and drink services, delivery services, or other supply services).
• Employee: All persons who are considered employees under the OSH Act, including temporary, seasonal, and leased employees.
• Employer: All persons who are considered employers under the OSH Act.
• Exposure (exposed): A concept whereby an employee in the course of employment is reasonably likely to be subjected to a hazard.
• General Duty Clause: The General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, Section 5(a)(1), which states that “[e]ach employer ... shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”
• Host employer: An employer who controls conditions at a multi-employer worksite.
• ISO 45001: The first-ever internationally agreed upon industry standard for the design and implementation of safety and health management systems.
• Multi-employer worksite: A workplace where there are employees of more than one employer working alongside or interacting with each other. Typically, some workers are employed by a host employer (which may be an owner or general contractor) and others by a contractor, subcontractor, or temporary staffing agency.
• Program: Procedures, methods, processes, and practices that are part of the management system at the workplace.
• Safety and health information: The establishment’s fatality, injury, and illness experience; OSHA 300 logs; workers’ compensation claims; nurses’ logs; the results of any medical screening/surveillance; employee safety and health complaints and reports; environmental and biological exposure data; information from prior workplace safety and health inspections; safety data sheets (SDSs); the results of employee symptom surveys; safety manuals and health and safety warnings provided to the employer by equipment manufacturers and chemical suppliers; information about occupational safety and health provided to the employer by trade associations or professional safety or health organizations; and the results of prior accident and incident investigations at the workplace.
• Severity: The likelihood of employee exposure, the seriousness of harm associated with the exposure, and the number of exposed employees.

Summary of requirements

While federal OSHA does not “require” employers to put in place a safety and health program, the agency offers guidelines to provide them with a sound, flexible framework for addressing safety and health issues in diverse workplaces. The 39-page, November 2015 draft guidelines give the latest recommendations from the agency. However, the guidelines can be boiled down to seven core elements:

• Management leadership:
  • Communicate your commitment to a safety and health program;
  • Define program goals and expectations;
  • Allocate resources; and
  • Expect performance.
• Worker participation:
  • Encourage workers to report safety and health concerns;
  • Encourage workers to participate in the program;
  • Involve workers in all aspects of the program;
  • Give workers access to safety and health information; and
  • Remove barriers to participation.
• Hazard identification and assessment:
  • Collect existing information about workplace hazards;
  • Inspect the workplace;
  • Conduct incident investigations;
  • Identify hazards associated with emergency and non-routine situations; and
  • Characterize the nature of identified hazards, determine the controls to be implemented, and prioritize the hazards for control.
• Hazard prevention and control:
  • Identify control options;
  • Select controls;
  • Develop and update a hazard control plan;
  • Select controls to protect workers during non-routine operations and emergencies;
  • Implement selected controls in the workplace; and
  • Follow up to confirm that controls are effective.
• Education and training:
  • Provide program awareness training;
  • Train workers on their specific roles and responsibilities in the safety and health program; and
  • Train workers on health identification and controls.
• Program evaluation and improvement:
  • Monitor performance and progress;
  • Verify the program is implemented and is operating; and
  • Correct program deficiencies and identify opportunities to improve.
• Coordination and communication on multiemployer worksites:
  • Commit to a program that will provide the same level of safety and health protection to temporary and contract workers as to permanent workers;
  • Ensure that all workers, whether permanent or temporary, receive the same information and have the same opportunity to participate in program activities;
  • Ensure hazards are identified and assessed and that injuries, illnesses, and incidents involving temporary and contract workers are reported and investigated;
  • Ensure that the host employer and contractor, subcontractor, or temporary staffing agency are familiar with each other’s hazard control plan and understand their respective responsibilities for controlling hazards;
  • Ensure that temporary and contract workers receive appropriate safety and health training and information that will enable them to perform their work safely alongside permanent workers; and
  • Evaluate safety and health programs periodically to ensure that they operate as intended and to identify improvement opportunities. All employers and their workers participate in these evaluations.

Some state agencies may be more stringent than federal OSHA and, in fact, require some kind of safety and health program. Check your state workplace safety or workers’ compensation laws and regulations for requirements, if any.