Safety pros attending the National Safety Council 2013 Congress & Expo in Chicago saw one impact of the federal government shutdown: OSHA administrator David Michaels wasn’t able to attend and give a planned presentation. But what else does the shutdown mean to OSHA and employers it covers?
Only 236 OSHA employees out of 2,300 are working during the shutdown.
Some inspections will continue: those for fatalities, catastrophes (when three or more workers need hospital treatment) and when an employee reports an imminent danger situation to OSHA.
Employers are still expected to report employee fatalities and hospitalizations to OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742). How serious is OSHA about that? The message the agency has left on its website since it won’t be otherwise updated during the government shutdown gives instructions to companies to still call the toll-free number to report fatalities and injuries.
OSHA can issue citations to companies that fail to report fatalities or injuries.
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is not operating during the shutdown. A message on its website says, “The Commission will consider any documents transmitted to it during the period of closure when funding has been restored and the Commission resumes business operations.”
So, for any company appealing an OSHA fine, those appeals are currently on hold.
Companies should expect that OSHA’s Dec. 1, 2013, deadline for complying with the revised Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) known as the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) will stand. Explanations of what companies have to do to comply with GHS remain on OSHA’s website and are available for free.
And of course, in states such as California with their own OSHAs, inspections and other operations will continue, unaffected.