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SECTION F1: INTRODUCTION TO
OSHA
Introduction
Many of the health and safety programs and procedures in this Health and
Safety Guide are derived from federal Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. This section
provides some background information about OSHA and OSHA standards, inspections,
citations and penalties. It is also the intent of this section to distinguish
between the role of OSHA and the role of the Princeton University Office
of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS).
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Scope and Application
OSHA regulations cover many activities at colleges and universities.
Although OSHA regulations were written specifically for employees, Princeton
University is committed to providing a safe work environment, free of
recognizable hazards. Most of the programs in this Health and Safety
Guide extend to faculty, staff, undergraduates and graduate students.
For any particular health and safety program at Princeton University,
the scope and application of specific OSHA regulations are described
within the pertinent section of this Guide.
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Description
The Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHAct) of 1970 was passed by Congress "to
assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe
and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources."
Under the OSHAct, OSHA was established within the Department of Labor
and was authorized to regulate health and safety conditions for all employers
with few exceptions.
Purpose
- Under the OSHAct, OSHA was created to:
- encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and
to implement new or improve existing safety and health standards;
- provide for research in occupational safety and health and develop
innovative ways of dealing with occupational safety and health problems;
- establish "separate but dependent responsibilities and rights"
for employers and employees for the achievement of better safety and
health conditions;
- maintain a reporting and recordkeeping system to monitor job-related
injuries and illnesses;
- establish training programs to increase the number and competence
of occupational safety and health personnel; and,
- develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them
effectively.
Standards
The OSHA standards affecting the University fall into two major
categories: (1) General Industry and (2) Construction (see Section
B11, Construction and Renovation, for more information
on OSHA standards for construction). These standards may require the
adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, or processes
reasonably necessary or appropriate to provide protection on the job.
It is the supervisor’s responsibility to become
familiar with the applicable standards and to ensure that employees
follow procedures, including the use of personal protective equipment,
as required.
General Duty Clause
Where OSHA has not promulgated specific standards to address a given
situation, employers are responsible for following the intent of the
OSHAct’s general duty clause. The general duty clause states that
each employer shall 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 [its] employees." In those cases where a
specific standard does not exist, OSHA will use the general duty clause
for the issuance of citations and fines.
Development and Adoption of Standards
The standard setting procedure can be started in several different
ways. OSHA can simply begin the process on its own initiative or in
response to petitions from other parties. Once OSHA has developed
plans to propose, amend, or delete a standard, it publishes these
intentions in the Federal
Register as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or often
as an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The notice will
include the terms of the new rule and provide a specific time for
the public to respond. Interested parties may submit written arguments
and pertinent evidence and may request a public hearing on the proposal
when none has been announced in the notice.
After close of the comment period or public hearing, OSHA must publish
in the Federal Register the full, final text of the adopted
standard and the date it becomes effective, along with an explanation
of the standard and the reasons for implementing it.
Keeping Employees Informed
Departments are responsible for keeping employees informed about
OSHA and about the various safety and health matters with which they
are involved. OSHA requires that each department post certain materials
at a prominent location in the workplace. These include:
- Job Safety and Health Protection (workplace
poster, OSHA 2203) informing employees of their rights and responsibilities
under the OSHAct;
- summaries of petitions for variances from standards or recordkeeping
procedures; and
- copies of OSHA citations for violations of standards. These must
remain posted at or near the location of the alleged violations
for three days or until the violations are abated, whichever is
longer.
Occasionally, OSHA standards or NIOSH
(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) research activities
will require an employer to measure and record employee exposure to
potentially harmful substances. Employees have the right (in person
or through their authorized representative) to be present during the
measuring and to examine records of the results. Each employee or
former employee has the right to see his or her examination records
and must be told if exposure has exceeded the levels set by standards.
The employee must also be told what corrective actions are being taken.
Workplace Inspections
OSHA is authorized to conduct workplace inspections to enforce its
standards. All establishments covered under the OSHAct, including
Princeton University, are subject to inspection by OSHA compliance
safety and health officers.
Under the Act, an OSHA compliance officer is authorized to:
- "Enter without delay and at reasonable times any factory, plant,
establishment, construction site or other areas, workplace, or environment
where work is being performed by an employee of the employer"; and
to
- "Inspect and investigate during regular working hours, and at
other reasonable times, and within reasonable limits and in a reasonable
manner, any such place of employment and all pertinent conditions,
structures, machines, apparatus, devices, equipment and equipment
therein, and to question privately any such employer, owner, operator,
agent or employee."
Nearly all inspections are conducted without any advanced notice.
However, when advance notice of an inspection is given, the employer
must inform his or her employees’ representatives or arrange for OSHA
to do so. OSHA usually does not have a warrant for an inspection when
they first arrive and may not conduct warrantless inspections without
an employer’s consent. It may, however, inspect after acquiring a
search warrant or its equivalent based on administrative probable
cause.
If an OSHA Inspector Shows Up at Your Doorstep
If an OSHA Compliance Officer contacts anyone via phone or mail,
contact EHS at 258-5294. EHS will assist the department in determining
what steps, if any, need to be taken. If an OSHA Compliance Officer
arrives at your department to conduct an inspection, the following
procedure should be followed:
- Ask the Compliance Officer for credentials – a badge or identification
card specifying that the person is an agent of OSHA.
- Ask whether the Compliance Officer has a warrant for the inspection.
Do not demand a warrant; simply inquire whether or not one exists.
- Before an inspection, the Compliance Officer will conduct an
opening conference, during which the Compliance Officer explains
why he or she is there and what he or she wishes to do. Ask the
Compliance Officer to wait while you assemble the appropriate people
for the opening conference.
- Contact Public
Safety and EHS to inform them about the arrival of the Compliance
Officer. Do not begin the opening conference without a representative
from EHS present.
- After the opening conference, the Compliance Officer will conduct
a walk-around inspection. EHS and department representatives must
accompany the Compliance Officer during the inspection. If affected
employees in the department are represented by a union, ask employees
to designate a union representative to be present during the inspection.
- After the inspection, department representatives and EHS will
meet to discuss the outcome and plan for action, as needed.
- If a notice of violation is received, it must be posted in the
area of the offense for at least three days.
- Any fines issued by OSHA are the responsibility of the department.
Consult with EHS and the Office of General Counsel before paying
fines.
In order to have the most "effective" inspection, the following suggestions
should be considered:
- Answer any questions truthfully, without directly admitting guilt.
Never knowingly give false statements or intentionally mislead a
Compliance Officer. If you do not know the answer to a question,
explain that you are not certain and that you will look into the
matter further, as necessary.
- Do not offer information unless asked for it. Do not talk about
accidents or incidents that have occurred in the past unless specifically
asked to do so.
- Be courteous. Do not be rude to the Compliance Officer or argue
with him or her.
- Do not discuss political views regarding OSHA or the federal
government.
Types of Inspections
There are five types of inspections that OSHA conducts. These are
listed in their order of importance, as determined by OSHA:
- Imminent Danger - Imminent danger
situations are given top priority. An imminent danger is any condition
where there is reasonable certainty that a danger exists that can
be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately
or before the danger can be eliminated through normal enforcement
procedures. When an imminent danger situation is found, the compliance
officer will ask the employer to voluntarily abate the hazard and
to remove endangered employees from exposure. Should the employer
refuse, OSHA will apply to the nearest federal District Court for
legal action to correct the situation.
- Catastrophic and Fatal Accidents
- Second priority is given to investigation of fatalities and catastrophes
resulting in hospitalization of three or more employees.
- Employee Complaints - Each employee
has the right to request an OSHA inspection when the employee feels
that he or she is in imminent danger from a hazard or when he or
she feels that there is a violation of an OSHA standard that threatens
physical harm. If the employee so requests, OSHA will withhold the
employee’s name from the employer.
- Programmed High Hazard Inspections
- OSHA establishes programs of inspection aimed at specific
high hazard industries, occupations, or health hazards. Workplaces
are selected for inspection on the basis of death, illness and injury
rates, employee exposure to toxic substances, and the like.
- Re-inspections - Establishments
cited for alleged serious violations may be re-inspected to determine
whether the hazards have been corrected.
Citations and Penalties
After the OSHA Compliance Officer reports findings to his or her
office, the area director determines what citations, if any, will
be issued and what penalties will be proposed. The types of violations
and penalties which may be proposed are:
- Other than serious violation
- A violation that has a direct relationship to job safety and
health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical
harm. The maximum proposed penalty for this type of violation
is $7000.
- Serious violation - A violation
where there is substantial probability that death or serious physical
harm could result, and that the employer knew, or should have
known, of the hazard. The maximum proposed penalty for this type
of violation is $7000. Imminent danger situations are also
cited and penalized as serious violations.
- Willful violation - A violation
that the employer intentionally and knowingly commits. The employer
either knows that the operation constitutes a violation, or is
aware that a hazardous condition exists and made no reasonable
effort to eliminate it. The penalty range for this type of violation
is $5000 to $70,000.
- Repeated violation - A violation
of any standard, regulation, rule, or order where, upon re-inspection,
another violation of the same previously cited section is found.
Repeated violations can bring fines of up to $70,000.
- Failure to Abate - Failure
to correct any violations may bring civil penalties of up to $7000
per day for every day the violation continues beyond the prescribed
abatement date.
Other regulatory violations and penalties include:
- falsifying records, reports or applications can bring a fine
of $10,000 and/or six months in jail upon conviction;
- violations of posting requirements can bring civil penalties
of up to $7000;
- assaulting a compliance officer, or otherwise resisting, opposing,
intimidating or interfering with a compliance officer in the performance
of his or her duties is a criminal offense, subject to a fine
of not more than $5000 and/or 3 years in jail; and
- conviction of a willful violation that has resulted in the
death of an employee can lead to individual fines of up to $250,000
and/or 6 months in jail and corporate fines of up to $500,000
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Roles and Responsibilities
Department
- Determine which OSHA regulations or standards apply to areas or
functions of your department. EHS may assist in this determination,
using the Department
Health and Safety Profile.
- Review the status of the applicable health and safety programs
and regulatory compliance within the department.
- Develop an action plan to address any deficiencies or problems.
- Ensure supervisors understand and enforce the requirements of the
applicable standards.
- Periodically conduct self-audits of the safety programs within
the department.
- Contact Public Safety and EHS if an OSHA Inspector calls or arrives
for inspection.
- Any incident resulting in one or more fatalities or hospitalization
of three or more workers must be reported to OSHA within eight hours
of being informed of the incident. Contact EHS or Public Safety immediately
upon learning of such an incident. EHS will report the information
to OSHA.
Supervisors
- Become familiar with the program and regulatory requirements for
operations under your supervision.
- Enforce any requirements.
- Periodically conduct self-audits of the safety programs under your
supervision.
- Report all safety concerns to the Departmental Safety Manager.
EHS
- Assist departments in conducting a Departmental
Health and Safety Profile.
- Assist in developing programs and procedures within the departments.
- Provide training and other assistance as needed.
- Assist departments in addressing specific health and safety concerns.
- Assist departments during OSHA inspections.
- Assist in preparing a response to any OSHA citations or concerns.
- Report incidents to OSHA, as appropriate.
Individual
- Follow all health and safety guidelines and procedures.
- Wear personal protective equipment, where needed.
- Report all health and safety concerns to supervisors, Departmental
Safety Managers or EHS.
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For More Information
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