Human Resource Blog

Illinois: State or Federal OSHA?

In

Illinois, what is the agency that regulates worker safety?

Illinois is one of 26 states where the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, regulates all types of employee safety programs.

There are 21 states that have set up their own state  OSH, Occupational Safety and Health program. Those states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Sough Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and

Wyoming. The

territory of

Puerto Rico has also instituted a similar plan.

In addition, three states have implemented state worker safety programs that cover only the state and local government employees. These states are Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. In those states, businesses and non-profit agencies still fall under federal OSHA jurisdiction. The

Virgin Islands has also implemented a similar program.

The leaders of all of these state agencies belong to OSHSPA, the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association.

In the remaining 26 states plus Guam, the federal OSHA performs inspections of workplaces. OSHA investigates accidents and fatalities in the workplace, institutes regulations and levies fines when appropriate. OSHA also acts as an on-site safety consultant, giving free safety tips to employers. OSHA also conducts safety training and education classes.

When a state implements its own OSH program, the state must assume all those functions performed by OSHA. In return, state programs receive up to 50% of their funding from the federal OSHA.

Setting up a state OSH program is a long, arduous process. The state must submit plans to be approved by OSHA. Once the plans are approved, OSHA will check that they are implemented effectively. It can take two years or more for a state to get an Occupational Safety and Health program approved.

Under federal law, the state regulations must be “at least as effective as” the federal programs. A few states, most notably California, have standards that offer employees significantly more protection than the federal rules do. This is particularly true in regard to exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, in

California.