Office safety

Scope

Office environments are regulated within OSHA’s “general industry” regulations found at 29 CFR 1903, 1904, and 1910. Many “sections” within these regulatory part numbers will apply to office environments. If provided, check the applicability and scope paragraph(s) of each regulatory section to determine whether it applies to your office location.

Note: 29 CFR 1903, 1904, and 1910 are regulatory part numbers; whereas, 1910.37 and 1910.151 are examples of regulatory sections. The scope and applicability of the Hazard Communication Standard is found in paragraph (b) of 1910.1200, also known as 1910.1200(b), for example.

Regulatory citations

Each section of the following should be checked for applicability to your office location:

• 29 CFR 1903 — Inspections, citations and proposed penalties
• 29 CFR 1904 — Recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses
• 29 CFR 1910 — Occupational safety and health standards

However, some of the key regulations affecting office environments include:

• 29 CFR 1910 Subpart D — Walking-working surfaces
• 29 CFR 1910 Subpart E — Exit routes and emergency planning
• 29 CFR 1910.141 — Sanitation
• 29 CFR 1910.144 — Safety color code for marking physical hazards
• 29 CFR 1910.145 — Specifications for accident prevention signs and tags
• 29 CFR 1910.146 — Permit-required confined spaces
• 29 CFR 1910.151 — Medical services and first aid
• 29 CFR 1910 Subpart L — Fire Protection
• 29 CFR 1910 Subpart S — Electrical
• 29 CFR 1910.1020 — Access to employee exposure and medical records
• 29 CFR 1910.1030 — Bloodborne pathogens
• 29 CFR 1910.1200 — Hazard communication

In addition, OSHA may cite the General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act) for ergonomic and other hazards not yet regulated specifically under Parts 1903, 1904, and 1910.

Key definitions

• Ergonomics: The science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities and limitations of employees. Ergonomics is a multidisciplinary concept rooted in the design of jobs, tools, and workstations to fit the capabilities and limitations of employees.
• General Duty Clause: means Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which requires that every worker must be provided with a safe and healthful workplace. It specifically states: “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.”

Summary of requirements

Employers with office work environments must:

• Follow all applicable OSHA safety and health standards under 29 CFR 1903, 1904, and 1910.
• Find and correct safety and health hazards.
• Provide required employee training.
• Post OSHA citations, injury and illness summary data, and the OSHA “Job Safety and Health — It’s The Law” poster in the workplace where workers will see them.
• Keep required safety and health records, including, but not limited to, accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses and employee exposure and medical records.
• Notify OSHA within eight hours of a workplace fatality or within 24 hours of any work-related in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
• Electronically submit your 300A data to OSHA. Certain employers have to electronically submit to OSHA the 300A Annual Summary data they are already required to keep under existing OSHA regulations. The requirement at 29 CFR 1904.41 applies to the following:
  • Establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records.
  • Establishments with 20-249 employees that are classified in certain industries with historically high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses. OSHA lists those industries by NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) classification. Find the list of these industries at 29 CFR 1904 Subpart E Appendix A.
• Not retaliate against any employee for exercising his/her rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
• Keep aisles and walkways clean, dry, in good repair, and free from obstructions.
• Become familiar with floor loading capacities and make certain they are not exceeded.
• Ensure ladders are maintained and used properly. Do not allow employees to use chairs, tables, or boxes for climbing.
• Train employees in safe ladder use.
• Remove defective ladders from service.
• Ensure stairs, stair rails, and handrails meet OSHA specifications. Equip all stairways that are four feet or more above a lower surface with stair rail systems and guardrails. Ensure stairs have uniform riser heights and tread depths between landings. Provide proper landing platforms. Ensure stairs have proper angles and widths. Inspect all stairways regularly and as necessary. Maintain stairways in a safe condition.
• Keep storage areas free from accumulation of materials that constitute hazards from tripping, fire, explosion, or pest harborage.
• Exercise vegetation control when necessary.
• Establish emergency escape procedures and emergency escape route assignments if you are required to have an emergency action plan under 1910.38.
• Establish an employee alarm system and ensure it is operable.
• Provide exit routes that are permanent.
• Ensure the number of exit routes is adequate.
• Make sure exit doors are unlocked from the inside at all times.
• Provide exit routes that meet minimum height and width requirements.
• Ensure lighting and exit marking are adequate and appropriate.
• Prohibit food or beverages from being stored or consumed in a toilet room.
• Ensure the number, size, and location of food waste receptacles encourages their use and not result in overfilling.
• Keep all places of employment clean to the extent that the nature of the work allows.
• Keep restrooms and washrooms clean and sanitary.
• Provide potable water for drinking, washing, and cooking. In addition, ensure that all outlets for water that are not suitable for drinking are clearly identified.
• Use appropriate colors for identification of equipment and hazards per OSHA regulations, including, but not limited to, 1910.144.
• Follow OSHA specifications for accident prevention signs and tags.
• Evaluate the workplace to determine if any spaces are permit-required confined spaces.
• Inform employees of the location and danger of permit spaces by signs or other effective means.
• Either develop and implement a written permit space program or prevent employees from entering permit spaces.
• Evaluate all permit spaces prior to entry. Only allow entry into permit spaces with a signed entry permit.
• Ensure that unauthorized employees do not approach or enter a permit space.
• Determine the need for first-aid supplies and for medical and first-aid services. Ensure that “adequate” first-aid supplies are available at the worksite.
• Ensure prompt first-aid treatment for injured employees either by providing for the availability of a trained first-aid provider at the worksite, or by ensuring that emergency treatment services are within “near proximity” of the worksite.
• Train employees who are expected to provide first aid or medical services.
• Ensure fire extinguishers are free of obstruction, readily accessible, and identified.
• Ensure that all portable and fixed fire suppression equipment, fire detection systems, and fire or employee alarm systems are installed and maintained as required by 29 CFR 1910 Subpart L.
• Use electrical equipment that is free from recognized hazards, is suitable for installation (listed and labeled, for example, with an Underwriter Laboratories (UL) certification), and is listed and labeled equipment must be installed and used according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Only use electrical equipment with the following durable markings: manufacturer’s name or trademark, voltage, current, wattage, and/or other necessary information.
• Provide and maintain sufficient access and working space around all electrical equipment. See 1910.303.
• Provide ground-fault circuit interrupter protection (GFCI) for personnel for all 125-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles installed in bathrooms or rooftops.
• Know that flexible cords and cables can only be used in limited circumstances.
• Understand the difference between qualified and unqualified employees regarding electrical safety-related work practices.
• Follow the electrical training requirements in 1910.332.
• Know the lockout and tagging requirements for deenergized circuits.
• Understand how to protect employees from electric shock and arc flash and blast.
• Assess the workplace for any toxic substance or harmful physical agent exposures that may generate medical or exposure records. Toxic substance or harmful physical agent means any chemical substance, biological agent (bacteria, virus, fungus, etc.), or physical stress (noise, heat, cold, vibration, repetitive motion, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, hypo-or hyperbaric pressure), which meets certain criteria under 1910.1020(c)(13).
• Keep “employee medical records” for at least the duration of employment plus 30 years.
• Keep “employee exposure records” for at least 30 years.
• Provide access to employees of their medical and exposure records.
• Inform employees annually of the existence and location of employee exposure and medical records and the process and rights for accessing them.
• Determine if you have one or more employees with “occupational exposure,” which, under 1910.1030 means reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) that may result from the performance of an employee’s duties.
• If you have one or more employees with “occupational exposure,” as defined by 1910.1030, ensure that you provide all the protections under 1910.1030, including a written exposure control plan, proper control measures, personal protective equipment, housekeeping and proper waste disposal, hepatitis B vaccinations, post-exposure evaluation and follow-up, warning labels, employee training, and medical and training records.
• Inform employees about chemical hazards through training, labels, chemical safety data sheets, a written hazard communication program, and a chemical inventory list, if required under 1910.1200.

Office employers should also consider taking safety and health measures toward other office concerns such as ergonomics, indoor air quality, smoking, temperature conditions, weather safety, stress, sexual harassment, workplace violence and security, travel safety, and driving safety. These concerns are not directly regulated under Parts 1903, 1904, and 1910. However, OSHA can and has used the General Duty Clause to cite employers for serious hazards not found in the regulations.