Requirements for federal approval of a state OSHA plan

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

June 30, 1994

Mr. Steve Cummings
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Cummings:

This is in response to your letter of June 18 to Mr. Peter Schultze, a member of my staff in the Office of State Programs. In your letter you asked how a State can obtain Federal approval of a State occupational safety and health program.

As I explained to you in my letter of May 16, Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 specifically encourages States to develop State safety and health plans. OSHA approves and monitors the plans, and provides up to 50 percent of the costs of operating a State plan. There are currently 23 State plans which cover private and public sector employees and two States which cover public sector employees only, with private sector employees still under Federal OSHA enforcement jurisdiction.

State plans are required to adopt "at least as effective" safety and health standards. State plans conduct enforcement inspections, cover employees of State and local governments (who are excluded from Federal OSHA coverage under the Act), and provide safety and health training and education programs.

In order to receive initial Federal approval of a developmental safety and health plan, a State must first submit an application for a plan to the U.S. Department of Labor. The State must have adequate authority under enabling legislation enacted by the State legislature and also demonstrate that within 3 years it will have adequate procedures for promulgating standards that are at least as effective as the equivalent Federal OSHA standards, procedures for enforcement and appeals of citations and penalties, public employee protection, and a sufficient number of qualified personnel for enforcement training, education and technical assistance programs.

Although Federal OSHA does not have the legal authority to investigate the working conditions of employees of State and local governments, you may want to contact the OSHA Area Office in Charleston, West Virginia, for more general information regarding occupational safety and health. The address is as follows:

Mr. Stanley Elliott
Area Director
U.S. Department of Labor - OSHA
550 Eagan Street, Room 206
Charleston, West Virginia 25301

Telephone: (304) 347-5937

I hope that this information, as well as the informational materials sent to you by my previous letter, have been of some use to you.

Sincerely,
Zoltan Bagdy, Acting Director
Federal-State Operations

[Requester letter reproduced on OSHA page; omitted here.]