Have you
ever had a question about a particular OSHA standard? If so, the odds are good
that your question has already been asked and answered by OSHA in what is known
as a “letter of interpretation”. The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) has issued thousands of letters of interpretation over
the years to answer questions posed by people about various health and safety
standards. These letters are available on the OSHA website, and provide a
valuable resource when you are researching a particular standard. But many
people have difficulty finding the letter(s) that apply to the particular OSHA
regulation(s) they are researching. So I wanted to make you aware of how easy
it is to locate the OSHA letters you are seeking.
When you
visit the OSHA website, they have a page for interpretation letters that lists each Part (e.g.: Part 1910, Part 1917 . ..) of the OSHA regulations.
You can search for letters applicable to a particular OSHA standard by clicking
on the Part in which the standard appears, then drilling down through each
section and the corresponding list of letter titles until you find the letter(s)
for the standard you need.
But for me, the easiest method to find out if there are any letters of
interpretation (or OSHA directives) associated with a particular standard is to
just go directly to the OSHA standard you are researching on the OSHA website
and see if the standard heading is hyperlinked. For example, here is the link to the OSHA General Industry standards for Emergency Action Plans.
Click on that
link and you will see each paragraph of that section listed. Pay close
attention to each paragraph heading (e.g.: 1910.38(a), 1910.38(b), 1910.38(c) .
. .); some of them are blue and underlined, and some are gray and not
underlined.
The ones that are blue and underlined are hyperlinked to a list of
the letter(s) of interpretation (and OSHA directives too, where applicable)
associated with that particular paragraph.
And the ones in gray do not have any letter of interpretation associated
with the standard. For example,
1910.38(b) is the OSHA standard that details when it is and is not necessary to
have your emergency action plan in writing. Once you access the page for that standard, click on the the hyperlinked
heading for 1910.38(b),
and you will be directed to a link to a letter of interpretation that expands on that particular regulation.
Of course,
you must keep in mind that OSHA letters of interpretation are very specific to
the circumstances addressed in each particular letter, so do not over-reach and
try to apply their guidance to a scenario that is different than the one posed
in the letter. And it is possible there may be no letter associated with the particular
standard you are researching, or, there may be several. Also keep in mind that
OSHA letters of interpretation can become obsolete when the associated standard
is revised. And be aware that OSHA will has been known to revise an old letter of
interpretation on occasion, so check the ones that are of most importance to
you every once in a while to make sure you have the latest information.
OSHA letters of interpretation can be very
useful when researching an OSHA regulation, and finding them can be a snap (or
a few clicks, actually) when you use the methods described above. Please let me
know if you have any comments or questions regarding OSHA letters of
interpretation by clicking the link to the "comments" section below, and please share a link to this blog post with others in your
network that can benefit from this information.
Thanks, good link! Ron.
ReplyDeleteGood info Curtis. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGood information Curtis. I guess being a retired OSHA Representative and going onto the www.osha.gov web site everyday for the past 30 plus years, one takes navigating the site for granted......I used that information (navigation ability) as somewhat of a "magic trick" now as a "Private EH&S Consultant". I would impress my clients with the knowledge I have in my capability to explain the application and interpretations of regulatory standards, quoting "directives", "interpretations", "recent rulings", required activity noted in the CSHOs FOM. It was great and they loved it. Now, you come along and tell everybody how I did it. Thanks, thanks allot. LOL! Really though, good information and I hope everybody uses it. Have a safe day.
ReplyDeleteGreat info Curtis. I'll give you some feed back as I use it.
ReplyDeleteThanks alot for the information!So much better than using the search box and sifting through the unrelated search results.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. How do the ARCHIVED interpretations play a role in OSHA hearings, can they be referenced as an interpretation?
ReplyDeleteOSHA interpretations do change from time to time, so they will often archive old letters that may no longer be applicable. Basically, an OSHA Archive Document may no longer represent OSHA policy, and is presented in the archives as historical content, for research and review purposes only.
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