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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

 Federal Aviation Administration 

Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Aircraft Cabin Crewmembers

SUMMARY: This document announces information concerning the Federal Aviation 

Administration's (FAA's) proposed implementation of Sec. 829 of the FAA Modernization and 

Reform Act of 2012 (PL 112-95 – Feb. 14, 2012, 126 STAT. 135) and the regulation by the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration of some occupational safety and health 

conditions affecting cabin crewmembers on aircraft except for flight deck crew. 

I. Purpose 

The purpose of this Policy Statement is to enhance occupational safety and health in the aircraft 

cabin by establishing the extent to which Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) requirements may apply to the working conditions of aircraft cabin crew while they are 

onboard aircraft in operation. FAA continues to exercise its statutory authority to regulate the 

working conditions of aircraft flight deck crew and to fully occupy and exhaust the field of flight 

deck crew occupational safety and health while they are on aircraft in operation. 

II. Background 

Pursuant to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 the Federal Aviation Administration shall promote 

safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing . . . regulations and minimum 

standards for other practices, methods, and procedures the Administrator finds necessary for 

safety in air commerce and national security.” 49 U.S.C. 44701 et seq. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) was promulgated to assure, so 

far as possible, every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working 

conditions. To achieve that goal, Congress delegated broad, general authority to the Secretary of 

Labor to regulate the working conditions that affect the occupational safety and health of the 

Nation’s employees. 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq. The Secretary of Labor has delegated this authority 

to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue regulations that are 

related to the occupational safety and heath of employees. 29 U.S.C. § 655(b); Secretary’s Order 

1-2012, 77 FR 3912 (January 25, 2012). 

Congress also recognized that other federal agencies similarly exercise authority to regulate the 

working conditions of specific classes of employees. Section 4(b)(1) of the OSH Act provides 

that nothing in the OSH Act “shall apply to working conditions of employees with respect to 

which other Federal agencies ... exercise statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or 

regulations affecting occupational safety or health.” 29 U.S.C. § 653(b). Thus, OSHA is 

precluded from exercising its authority over working conditions that are regulated by another 

federal agency acting pursuant to that agency's own statutory authority. 
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On July 10, 1975, FAA published a Notice in the Federal Register setting forth FAA’s 

determination that its authority to promote the safety of civil aircraft operations “completely 

encompass[ed] the safety and health aspects of the work environments of aircraft crewmembers” 

(40 FR 29114). FAA concluded that, with respect to civil aircraft in operation, the “overall FAA 

regulatory program ... fully occupies and exhausts the field of aircraft crewmember occupational 

safety and health.” 

On August 7, 2000, FAA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with OSHA, 

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In the MOU, FAA and OSHA agreed to establish a joint team 

to identify the factors to be considered in determining the circumstances under which OSHA 

requirements may apply to the working conditions of employees on aircraft in operation (other 

than flight deck crew). The MOU contemplated that; consistent with the recommendations of the 

joint FAA-OSHA team, “FAA would replace its 1975 Federal Register Notice with a new policy 

statement, published in the Federal Register, setting forth the circumstances under which the 

regulatory requirements of OSHA will apply to the working conditions of employees on aircraft 

in operation (other than flight deck crew).” 

As an initial step in the MOU process, the joint team published a report in December 2000 

addressing whether and to what extent OSHA's existing standards and regulations on 

recordkeeping, bloodborne pathogens, noise, sanitation, hazard communication, antidiscrimination and access to employee exposure/medical records could be applied to employees 

on aircraft in operation without compromising aviation safety. The joint team concluded that, for 

the most part, application of these OSHA requirements would not compromise aviation safety 

except that engineering and administrative abatement controls could implicate aviation safety 

concerns. Discussions between the agencies have taken place in the intervening years, and we 

have concluded that some of these OSHA requirements, which are outlined below, could apply 

and will not compromise aviation safety. 

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 became law on February 14, 2012. Section 

829 of the Act provides in pertinent part: 

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

Federal Aviation Administration shall . . . initiate development of a policy statement to 

set forth the circumstances in which requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration may be applied to crewmembers while working in an aircraft. 

Pub. Law 112-95, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 STAT. 135 

III. Implementation of Section 829 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

This Policy Statement replaces the 1975 Federal Register notice “Occupational Safety or 

Health Standards for Aircraft Crewmembers”. 40 FR 29114 (July 2, 1975). FAA has 

determined that its regulations do not completely encompass the safety and health aspects of the 

work environments of aircraft crewmembers while the aircraft is in operation, and that there are 

working conditions for which it has not promulgated occupational safety or health standards. As 

a result, its regulations do not displace OSHA’s with respect to those working conditions, except 
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that FAA continues to exercise its statutory authority to fully occupy and exhaust the field of 

flight deck crew occupational safety and health while they are on aircraft in operation. For this 

purpose, and as explained in the 1975 Notice, an aircraft is “in operation” from the time it is first 

boarded by a crewmember, preparatory to a flight, to the time the last crewmember leaves the 

aircraft after completion of that flight, including stops on the ground during which at least one 

crewmember remains on the aircraft, even if the engines are shut down. 

In particular, FAA has not promulgated standards related to the working conditions addressed by 

OSHA's hazard communication and bloodborne pathogens standards; therefore OSHA can 

enforce those standards for aircraft cabin crewmembers. Similarly, although there are FAA 

regulations governing noise levels outside aircraft, FAA regulations do not address measures to 

promote hearing conservation for employees inside the aircraft cabin, so OSHA's hearing 

conservation standard can apply there. On the other hand, existing FAA regulations address the 

same hazards addressed by OSHA's sanitation standards, so those OSHA standards would not 

apply on aircraft. 

In a subsequent MOU, FAA and OSHA will establish procedures to identify any additional 

working conditions where OSHA requirements may apply. These procedures will ensure that 

OSHA will not apply any requirements with potential negative effects on aviation safety, and 

will also make clear that FAA retains its authority to preempt application of OSHA requirements 

that initially were not deemed to interfere with aviation safety if their application is later 

determined to create such interference. 

Some OSHA requirements are not safety and health standards and do not address working 

conditions; therefore they have always applied to all employees, even those who are subject to 

another agency's safety and health regulations. These include OSHA's regulations on recordkeeping and access to employee exposure and medical records. Also applicable to cabin 

crewmembers are OSHA’s anti-discrimination provision, Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, 29 

U.S.C. § 660(c), and all air carrier employees, the anti-discrimination provisions of “AIR 21,” 49 

U.S.C. § 42121. 

OSHA anticipates that it will respond to and investigate complaints or referrals without a need 

for any inspection of aircraft in operation. OSHA is also able to initiate a process to ensure that 

airlines will not be subject to multiple different sets of rules as they fly into and out of different 

states. FAA and OSHA will establish procedures in the MOU for resolving cabin crewmember 

safety and health issues that relate to aviation safety, with the goal of protecting the safety and 

health of cabin crewmembers without jeopardizing aviation safety. 

Issued in Washington, D.C., on 

Michael P. Huerta

Acting Administrator