Proposed Safety and Health Program
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
An A. & L. Shatto Advisory
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has begun the Rule-making process to modify 29 CFR 1900.1 for the stated purpose of reducing the number of job-related fatalities, illnesses and injuries. This goal is to be accomplished by requiring employers to establish a workplace Safety and Health Program in compliance with OSHA Standards and the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act Section 5(a)(1). In case you haven't seen it, the General Duty Clause states, in part, that:

"each 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."

The Scope of the requirement is very simple: all employers covered by OSHA, except construction and agriculture. The proposed Rule applies to all hazards covered by the General Duty Clause and by OSHA Standards. Believe me, that does not leave much uncovered! Your obligation is to set up a Safety and Health Program to manage workplace safety by systematically achieving compliance with OSHA Standards and the General Duty Clause. The Program must be appropriate to conditions and hazards that employees are actually exposed to.

The Core Elements of the Program are:

• Management Leadership and Employee Participation.

• Hazard Identification and Assessment.

• Hazard Prevention and Control.

• Information and Training.

• Evaluation of Program Effectiveness.

There are specific detailed requirements within each element that will have to be met. It is impossible to provide the details in a one page advisory. However, there are some opportunities here as well. Reduction in Workman's Compensation claims can be a major saving up front. Less obvious are the savings when absenteeism is reduced, productivity increases, and you don't have the problem of training fill-ins or replacements. A good Program can also have dividends in improved employee morale. Safety can pay off!

If you already have a similar Program, in written form and operating, OSHA may "grandfather" what you have and not require re-inventing the wheel. If you do not have a comparable Program in place now, then one created between now and the effective date of the Rule should also qualify for the grandfathering. If other requirements crop up in the meantime, it is easier to modify an existing Program than scrambling to create one.