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DOL/OSHA

RIN: 1218-AB41

Publication ID: Spring 1997

Title: Safety and Health Programs (for General Industry)
Abstract: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), many of the States, members of the safety and health community, insurance companies, professional organizations, companies participating in the Agency's Voluntary Protection Program, and many proactive employers in all industries have recognized the value of worksite-specific safety and health programs in preventing job-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. The effectiveness of these programs is seen most dramatically in the reductions in job-related injuries and illnesses, workers' compensation costs, and absenteeism that occur after employers implement such programs. To assist employers in establishing safety and health programs, OSHA in 1989 (54 FR 3904) published nonmandatory guidelines that were based on a distillation of the best safety and health management practices observed by OSHA in the years since the Agency was established. OSHA's decision to expand on these guidelines by developing a safety and health programs rule is based on the Agency's recognition that occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities are continuing to occur at an unacceptably high rate, for example; an average of 17 workers were killed each day in 1995 in occupational fatalities. ^PAlthough the precise scope of the standard (e.g., what industries will be covered, what sizes of firms will be covered) has not yet been determined, the safety and health programs contained in the proposed rule will include at least the following elements: management leadership of the program; active employee participation in the program; analysis of the worksite to identify serious safety and health hazards of all types; and requirements that employers eliminate or control those hazards in an effective and timely way. OSHA is also developing a program evaluation directive and a program evaluation profile to be used by compliance officers to evaluate the completeness and effectiveness of an employer's safety and health program. Employers who have effective programs will receive penalty reductions for any cited violations found by the compliance officer. OSHA believes that the effect of these enforcement initiatives, coupled with the regulatory requirements of the safety and health programs rule, will act as incentives to employers to establish safety and health programs that protect workers, enhance productivity, and decrease employer costs. In addition, in response to extensive stakeholder involvement, OSHA has, among other things, focused the rule on serious hazards, deleted required medical surveillance, and reduced burdens on small business.
Agency: Department of Labor(DOL)	Priority: Economically Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage
Major: Yes	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 29 CFR 1910 29 CFR 1928
Legal Authority: 29 USC 655

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	09/00/1997

Additional Information: Separate standards are being developed for the construction (29 CFR 1926) and the maritime (29 CFR 1915, 1917 and 1918) industries, which are being coordinated with this standard.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes	Government Levels Affected: Undetermined
Small Entities Affected: Businesses
Included in the Regulatory Plan: Yes
Agency Contact: John F. Martonik Evaluation Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration Room N3641, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, FP Building, Washington, DC 20210 Phone:202 693-2043 Fax:202 693-1641 Email: john.martonik@osha.gov