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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,873 posts)
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 09:14 AM Oct 2021

OSHA, citing Covid failures, moves to strip three states of workplace safety authority.

Hat tip, the CBS radio news, at 9:00 this morning

{edited}

There's a thread in the South Carolina group about this:

Federal government targets SC agency, claiming health care workers here are put 'at risk'

Oct. 19, 2021 | Updated Oct. 20, 2021, 7:33 a.m. ET

Daily Business Briefing

OSHA, citing Covid failures, moves to strip three states of workplace safety authority.

By Noam Scheiber

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that it was taking steps that could strip three states — Arizona, South Carolina and Utah — of their authority to regulate workplace safety, citing shortcomings in policies on coronavirus protection.

Under federal law, states can assume responsibility for occupational safety if the government approves their plan for doing so and if the plan remains at least as effective as federal enforcement.

Federal officials said Tuesday that the three states had failed to adopt a rule that OSHA issued in June — or to adopt one at least as effective — requiring certain Covid-related safety measures by employers, like providing protective equipment.

“OSHA has worked in good faith to help these three state plans come into compliance,” Jim Frederick, the agency’s acting director, said on a conference call. “But their continued refusal is a failure to maintain their state plan commitment to thousands of workers in their state.”

Emily H. Farr, the director of South Carolina’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, expressed disappointment in the action, saying that the state’s program had “proven effective as South Carolina has consistently had one of the lowest injury and illness rates in the nation.”
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OSHA, citing Covid failures, moves to strip three states of workplace safety authority. (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Oct 2021 OP
What is an OSHA-Approved State Plan? mahatmakanejeeves Oct 2021 #1

mahatmakanejeeves

(56,873 posts)
1. What is an OSHA-Approved State Plan?
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 09:22 AM
Oct 2021

Mon Sep 13, 2021: Are public employees covered by OSHA? It depends.

Mon Sep 13, 2021: Are public employees covered by OSHA? It depends.

On Monday, DeSantis said that any cities or counties in Florida that require public government employees to get vaccinated to keep their jobs will be charged $5,000 for every single violation, with violators at risk of paying millions of dollars in fines.

https://www.google.com/search?q=does+osha+cover+state+employees

Are public employees covered by OSHA?

State and Local Government Workers
Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by Federal OSHA, but have OSH Act protections if they work in those states that have an OSHA-approved state program.

Federal Government Workers
OSHA's protection applies to all federal agencies.

State Plan Frequently Asked Questions

What is an OSHA-Approved State Plan?

OSHA Coverage

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some state and local government employers and their workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority. Those jurisdictions include the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, Johnston Island, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands as defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Private Sector Workers

OSHA covers most private sector employers and workers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the other United States (U.S.) jurisdictions – either directly through OSHA or through an OSHA-approved State Plan. State Plans are OSHA-approved job safety and health programs operated by individual states rather than federal OSHA. Section 18 of the OSH Act encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health programs and precludes state enforcement of OSHA standards unless the state has an OSHA-approved State Plan.

OSHA approves and monitors all State Plans and provides as much as 50 percent of the funding for each program. State-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective (ALAE) as the federal OSHA program. OSHA provides coverage to certain workers specifically excluded from a State Plan (for example, those in some states who work in maritime industries or on military bases). To find the contact information of the OSHA or State Plan office nearest to you, call 1-800-321-OSHA or go to www.osha.gov.

The following 22 states or territories have OSHA-approved State Plans that cover both private and state and local government workers:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Hawaii
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Puerto Rico
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wyoming

State and Local Government Workers

Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by OSHA, but have OSH Act protections if they work in states that have an OSHA-approved State Plan. OSHA rules also permit states and territories to develop plans that cover state and local government workers only. In these cases, private sector workers and employers remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction.

Five additional states and one U.S. territory (Virgin Islands) have OSHA-approved State Plans that cover state and local government workers only:

• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Maine
• New Jersey
• New York
• Virgin Islands

Next question, is Florida a state-plan state?

OSHA State Plans

No. Florida is a federal OSHA state. Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by Federal OSHA.

All About OSHA
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