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1995-01-22
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INFORMATION DATE 19930218
DESCRIPTION USDOL Program Highlights, Setting Occupational Safety
and Health Standards
TOPIC Setting Standards
SUBJECT Setting Occupational Safety and Health Standards
ABSTRACT The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
authorizes the Secretary of Labor through OSHA to set
mandatory occupational safety and health standards
applicable to businesses affecting interstate commerce
through public rulemaking.
U.S. Department of Labor
Program Highlights
________________________________________________________________
Fact Sheet No. OSHA 92-14
SETTING OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 authorizes
the Secretary of Labor through the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) "to set mandatory occupational safety and
health standards applicable to businesses affecting interstate
commerce" through public rulemaking.
OSHA safety standards are designed to reduce on-the-job
injuries; health standards to limit workers' risk of developing
occupational disease. Most OSHA standards are horizontal - they
cover hazards which exist in a wide variety of industries. These
are compiled as the OSHA General Industry Standards. Vertical
standards apply solely to one industry. OSHA has promulgated
vertical standards for the construction, agriculture, and
maritime sectors.
Some general industry standards apply to construction,
agriculture, and maritime as well.
Getting Started. The impetus to develop a new safety or health
standard can come from a variety of sources: OSHA's own
initiative; the U.S. Congress; information from the Department of
Health and Human Services' National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH); Environmental Protection Agency's
Toxic Substances Control Act (TOSCA) referral; public petitions;
or requests from OSHA advisory committees.
Standard Setting Process. Standard setting may begin with
publication in the Federal Register of a request for information
(RFI), an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), or a
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). Through an RFI or an
ANPRM, OSHA seeks information to determine the extent of a
particular hazard(s), currently used and potential protective
measures, and costs and benefits of various protective
strategies.
OSHA has also sought to begin work on new standards by developing
consensus through negotiated rulemaking. The agency forms an
advisory committee representing the interest groups affected
including industry and labor which meets to hammer out an
agreement serving as the basis for a proposed rule. The process
is intended to shorten the rulemaking timetable and discourage
legal challenges to the final standard while at the same time
providing for full public comment on the issue.
Information gathered in any of these ways and/or other available
information such as injury and fatality data is used to develop a
proposal. Sometimes OSHA circulates early drafts of proposals
for informal comment from affected interest groups. Formal
proposals are published in the Federal Register with a public
comment period usually over the next 60 to 90 days which
occasionally may be extended at the request of interested
parties.
Commentors may also request a public hearing on a proposal.
Public hearings are presided over by a Department of Labor
administrative law judge who certifies the record after all data
are received , though decisions affecting the final standard are
made by OSHA as the agent of the Secretary of Labor. Hearings
are followed by post-hearing comment periods - usually 30 or more
days.
OSHA uses all of this information to prepare and publish in the
Federal Register a final standard or a determination that no
standard is needed. Standards take effect in 90 days or less,
although some provisions such as requirements for detailed
programs or engineering controls may be phased in over a longer
period. OSHA final standards may be challenged in the
appropriate U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by adversely affected
parties.
Special Requirements for Health Standards. Based on Supreme
Court decisions and a Presidential Executive Order, OSHA follows
a four-step process for developing occupational health standards.
First, the agency must demonstrate that a particular hazard poses
a significant risk to worker health. Second, the agency must
show that an OSHA standard would eliminate or substantially
reduce that risk. Then the agency selects the most protective
exposure limit that is economically and technologically feasible.
Finally, the agency looks for the most cost-effective ways for
employers to meet the exposure limit.
Standards Priorities. The Department of Labor publishes in the
Federal Register a semiannual agenda of the standards being
actively worked on, including target dates. The agenda usually
appears in April and October and covers regulatory activity
anticipated for a one-year period.
Special Standards. During its first two years, OSHA was
authorized by the act to promulgate national consensus standards
and other federal standards as OSHA standards. Where standards
differed, the Act required OSHA to choose the most protective.
National consensus standards came from voluntary standards
developed by such groups as the American National Standards
Institute and the National Fire Protection Association. Many
OSHA safety standards were adopted in this way. Safety and
health standards were adopted from the Walsh-Healey Act
standards.
OSHA also has the authority to promulgate emergency temporary
standards when it determines that workers are exposed to "grave
danger" from toxic substances or physical conditions and could be
protected by an OSHA standard. During the six-month life of an
emergency temporary standard, OSHA is charged with developing a
permanent standard to protect employees. The emergency temporary
standard remains in effect until superseded by a permanent
standard.
State Standards. States are encouraged to establish and maintain
their own job safety and health programs subject to Federal
approval. State-plan states' standards must be "at least as
effective" as the federal standards, with comparable state
standards to be issued within six months after new OSHA standards
are published in the Federal Register. States also can develop
standards covering areas or issues not regulated by federal OSHA.
These state standards, when applicable to products distributed or
used in interstate commerce, must be "required by compelling
local conditions" and not "unduly burden interstate commerce."
Variances. The Act also provides, through the "variance"
procedure, an alternative to compliance with specific
requirements of an OSHA standard. A permanent variance may be
granted to an applicant (employer) who can demonstrate to OSHA's
satisfaction that the proposed alternative (condition, method,
practice, or the like) will provide an employee environment as
safe and healthful as that which would be afforded by compliance
with the standard. The Agency may also grant a temporary
variance to an applicant who can demonstrate to OSHA that
additional time will be needed to comply with a newly promulgated
standard beyond the effective date.
Keeping Track of OSHA Standards. Notices of OSHA standard
setting activities are published in the Federal Register. All
OSHA standards are available in the 29 Code of Federal Regulation
as well as on a compact disk with read only memory (CD-ROM) for
paying subscribers. Standards interpretations, directives,
documents, the OSHA Field Operations Manual, chemical sampling
information, the OSHA Technical Manual, Federal Register index,
hazard information bulletins, congressional testimony, memoranda
of understanding with other agencies, corporate-wide settlement
agreements, library catalog, and other program information
maintained on the OSHA Computerized Information System (OCIS)
also are on the disk.
The subscription is $88.00 for the service with three quarterly
updates. A single disk is available for $28.00. Visa or
MasterCard number along with expiration date or a check made
payable to Superintendent of Documents may be used to order the
service (order number 729-013-00000-5).
The disk may be ordered from the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C. 20402-9352;
telephone 202-783-3238; fax 202-275-0019, or purchased from a
local GPO Bookstore. See the government listing in the telephone
directory for GPO's local address.
# # #
_________________________________________________________________
This is one of a series of fact sheets highlighting U.S. Department
of Labor programs. It is intended as a general description
only and does not carry the force of legal opinion. This
information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 219-8151. TDD message referral
phone: 1-800-326-2577.