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Hawaii State Worker Safety

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I was recently transferred to

Hawaii. As an employer in the 50^th state, am I subject to OSHA worker safety regulations, or those of a different agency?

Hawaii is one of 22 states with its own worker health and safety agency, so you’ll need to follow the regulations set by the division of Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health, or HIOSH, rather than the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, or OSHA.  HIOSH is a division of the Hawaii Department of Labor & Industrial Relations, or DLIR, the state’s answer to the Department of Labor.

In Hawaii, private employers including businesses and non-profits are also covered under the state agency. HIOSH also regulates safety for local and state government employers.

OSHA, the federal worker safety program, was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Under Section 18 of that act, states are encouraged to develop and operate their own job safety and health programs. However, these programs must be approved and monitored by OSHA.

The safety regulations under HIOSH are in many ways similar to the health and safety regulations that you are familiar with under OSHA. By law, state plans must be at least as effective as federal OSHA regulations on the same topic.  States have the option to enforce additional or stricter standards. So, for example, Hawaii has a number of regulations on the books that are a bit stricter than the federal OSHA regulations. None of the state’s regulations are less strict than the comparable federal regs, however.

A number of states have opted to establish state safety programs, and have them approved by OSHA. These include Alaska, Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky and Maryland, as well as Hawaii. In Connecticut, New Jersey and

New York, the state safety organization covers state and local governments only. In those three states (plus the

Virgin Islands), businesses and other non-government employers are still covered by the federal OSHA.

Eight states that once had a state safety agency now operate under the federal program. That’s partly a financial decision. While the federal OSHA provides up to 50% of the funds for a state agency, ultimately the state must provide the remainder of the agency’s operating budget.

When a state agency is in place, that agency is responsible for all safety inspections. They are also responsible for investigating all serious workplace accidents. State agencies must offer other services performed by the federal agency, including safety and health education programs, and free on-site safety consultations to help employers identify and correct hazards in the workplace. Every state agency must cover state and local government employees.