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Idaho: State or Federal OSHA?

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In

Idaho, agency that regulates worker safety state or federal?

Idaho is one of 26 states with a federal worker safety regulatory agency. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, regulates all types of employee safety programs in the state.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970  encouraged states to set up their own worker safety programs. In all, there are 21 states that have set up a state OSH, Occupational Safety and Health program. Those states include Tennessee, Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, and

Washington. The

commonwealth of

Puerto Rico has also instituted a separate state agency.  

Setting up a state OSH program is not an easy 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.

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

Virgin Islands has also implemented a similar program.  

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.

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