[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23637-23640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10138]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910


Injury and Illness Prevention Program

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice of stakeholder meetings.

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SUMMARY: OSHA invites interested parties to participate in informal 
stakeholder meetings on Injury and Illness Prevention Programs, 
referred to as ``I2P2.'' OSHA plans to use the information gathered at 
these meetings in developing an Injury and Illness Prevention Program 
proposed rule. The discussions will be informal and will provide the 
Agency with the necessary

[[Page 23638]]

information to develop a rule that will help employers reduce workplace 
injuries and illnesses through a systematic process that proactively 
addresses workplace safety and health hazards.

DATES: Dates and locations for the stakeholder meetings are:
    <bullet> June 3, 2010, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in East Brunswick, 
NJ.
    <bullet> June 10, 2010, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in Dallas, TX.
    <bullet> June 29, 2010, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in Washington, DC.
    The deadlines for confirmed registration at each meeting are May 
20, May 27, and June 15, 2010 respectively.

ADDRESSES:

I. Registration

    Submit your notice of intent to participate in one of the scheduled 
meetings by one of the following:
    <bullet> Electronic. Register at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/osha/register-osha-I2P2.htm (follow the instructions 
online).
    <bullet> Facsimile. Fax your request to: (781) 674-2906, and label 
it ``Attention: OSHA I2P2 Stakeholder Meeting Registration.''
    <bullet> Regular mail, express delivery, hand (courier) delivery, 
and messenger service.

Send your request to: Eastern Research Group, Inc., 110 Hartwell 
Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421; Attention: OSHA I2P2 Stakeholder Meeting 
Registration.

II. Meetings

    Specific information on the location of each meeting can be found 
on the I2P2 Web site at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/osha/register-osha-I2P2.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is 
available from the following sources:
    <bullet> Press inquiries. Contact Jennifer Ashley, Director, OSHA 
Office of Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
1999.
    <bullet> General and technical information. Contact Michael 
Seymour, OSHA Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N-3718, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210, telephone: (202) 693-1950.
    <bullet> Copies of this Federal Register notice. Electronic copies 
are available at http://www.regulations.gov. This Federal Register 
notice, as well as news releases and other relevant information, also 
are available on the OSHA Web page at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Over the past 30 years, the occupational safety and health 
community has used various names to describe systematic approaches to 
reducing injuries and illnesses in the workplace. OSHA has voluntary 
Safety and Health Management Program guidelines, consensus and 
international standards use the term ``Safety and Health Management 
Systems,'' and OSHA's state plan states use terms such as ``Injury and 
Illness Prevention Programs'' and ``Accident Prevention Programs.'' In 
this notice, OSHA uses the term ``Injury and Illness Prevention 
Programs.'' Regardless of the title, the common goal of these 
approaches is to help employers reduce workplace injuries and illnesses 
through a systematic process that proactively addresses workplace 
safety and health hazards.

OSHA's History With Safety and Health Programs

    The Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) (the 
Act) in Section 17, paragraph (j), provides the Occupational Safety and 
Health Review Commission (OSHRC) the authority to assess civil 
penalties giving due consideration to the good faith of the employer. 
Based on this paragraph of the Act, OSHA has also had a policy of 
reducing penalties for employers who have violated OSHA standards but 
who have demonstrated a good faith effort to provide a safe and healthy 
workplace to their employees. The Agency has long recognized the 
implementation of a safety and health program as a way of demonstrating 
good faith. Similarly, in its first decision, the OSHRC held that good 
faith compliance efforts are gauged primarily by the presence of 
effective safety and health programs (Nacirema Operating Co., 1 O.S.H. 
Cas. (BNA) 1001 (Rev. Comm'n 1972)).
    Over the years, OSHA has established a number of initiatives to 
encourage employers to develop and implement employee safety and health 
programs. OSHA's Small Business Consultation Program, which offers 
small businesses with exemplary safety and health programs an 
opportunity for recognition under their Safety and Health Achievement 
Recognition Program (SHARP) and the Agency's Voluntary Protection 
Program (VPP) are two examples of such initiatives. The Agency 
established the VPP to recognize companies in the private sector with 
outstanding records in the area of employee safety and health. It 
became apparent that many of these worksites, which had higher levels 
of compliance, fewer serious hazards, and injury and illness rates 
markedly below industry averages, were relying on safety and health 
programs to produce these results.
    Based on the growing support for safety and health programs, OSHA 
issued the Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines in 1989 (54 
FR 3908). These guidelines reflect the best management practices of 
successful companies and encourage employers to institute and maintain 
a program which provides systematic policies, procedures, and practices 
that are adequate to recognize and protect their employees from 
occupational safety and health hazards. The guidelines identify four 
major elements of an effective program: Management commitment and 
employee involvement; worksite analysis; hazard prevention and 
controls; and safety and health training.

OSHA's Previous Rulemaking Effort

    In October of 1995, OSHA held the first series of stakeholder 
meetings to discuss preliminary ideas for a safety and health program 
rule and the significant issues that would be raised by such a rule. 
Many small businesses and organizations representing small businesses 
attended the stakeholder meetings. Staff members from the Office of 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) were also present 
at the stakeholder meetings.
    In all, OSHA interacted with hundreds of stakeholders, including 
employers, employees, employee representatives, trade associations, 
State and local government personnel, safety and health professionals, 
Advisory Committees, and other interested parties.
    In 1998, OSHA developed a draft proposed rule that would have 
required employers in general industry and maritime workplaces to 
establish safety and health programs. The program in the draft proposed 
rule had five core elements, including: Management leadership and 
employee participation; hazard identification and assessment; hazard 
prevention and control; information and training; and evaluation of the 
program's effectiveness. In developing the draft proposed rule, OSHA 
worked extensively with stakeholders from labor, industry, safety and 
health organizations, State governments, trade associations, insurance 
companies, and small businesses.
    On October 20, 1998, OSHA convened a Small Business Regulatory

[[Page 23639]]

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) Panel for the draft Safety and Health 
Programs proposed rule. The Panel provided small entity representatives 
(SERs) with initial drafts of the rule, a summary of the rule, the 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, a summary of the benefits and 
costs of the rule as it affected firms in the small entity 
representative's industry, OSHA's draft enforcement policy for the 
rule, and a list of issues of interest to panel members.
    The SBREFA Panel held teleconferences and received written comments 
from the SERs. The comments, and the Panel's responses to them, formed 
the principal basis for the Panel's report. The Panel's report provided 
background information on the draft proposed rule and the types of 
small entities that would be subject to the proposed rule, described 
the Panel's efforts to obtain the advice and recommendations of 
representatives of those small entities, summarized the comments that 
had been received from those representatives, and presented the 
findings and recommendations of the Panel.
    A proposed Safety and Health Program rule was never published, and 
the rulemaking effort was removed from the Regulatory Agenda on August 
15, 2002. However, the effort in the 1990s showed the interest of OSHA, 
the States, employers, employees, OSHA's advisory committees, and 
others in a systematic process that proactively addresses workplace 
safety and health hazards. It demonstrated that OSHA was not alone in 
believing that these processes work to save lives and to prevent 
injuries and illnesses in the workplace.

Safety and Health Management System Consensus Standards

    Recently, consensus standards have been developed that address 
safety and health management systems. The American Industrial Hygiene 
Association published a voluntary consensus standard, ANSI/AIHA Z10--
2005 Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems, based on the 
``Plan-Do-Check-Act'' cycle. The Z10 standard places an emphasis on 
continual improvement and systematically eliminating the underlying 
root cause of hazards. In addition, the Occupational Health and Safety 
Assessment Series (OHSAS) Project Group, which is an international 
association of government agencies, private industries, and consulting 
organizations, developed OHSAS 18001--2007 Occupational Health and 
Safety Management Systems in response to customer demand for a 
recognized occupational health and safety management system standard 
against which their management systems could be assessed and certified. 
The OHSAS 18001 is published by the British Standards Institute.

II. Stakeholder Meetings

    Stakeholder meetings will provide OSHA with current information and 
appreciation of the views of a wide range of interests. The meetings 
will be conducted as a group discussion. To facilitate as much group 
interaction as possible, formal presentations will not be permitted. 
OSHA believes the stakeholder meeting discussion should center on major 
issues such as:
    <bullet> Possible regulatory approaches.
    <bullet> Scope and application of a rule.

--Covered industries.
--Covered employers (size, high/low injury rates).
--Covered hazards.
--Relationship to existing OSHA requirements.

    <bullet> Organization of a rule.

--Regulatory text.
--Mandatory or voluntary appendices.
--Other standards incorporated by reference.

    <bullet> The role of consensus standards.
    <bullet> Economic impacts.
    <bullet> Any additional topics as time permits.
    In addition, OSHA is interested in receiving feedback on the 
following specific questions:
    <bullet> In light of the ANSI Z10 standard, the OHSAS 18001 
standard, and OSHA's 1989 guidelines, what are the advantages and 
disadvantages of addressing through rulemaking a systematic process 
that proactively addresses workplace safety and health hazards?
    <bullet> Based on OSHA's experience, the agency believes that an 
I2P2 rule would include the following elements:
    1. Management duties (including items such as establishing a 
policy, setting goals, planning and allocating resources, and assigning 
and communicating roles and responsibilities);
    2. Employee participation (including items such as involving 
employees in establishing, maintaining and evaluating the program, 
employee access to safety and health information, and employee role in 
incident investigations);
    3. Hazard identification and assessment (including items such as 
what hazards must be identified, information gathering, workplace 
inspections, incident investigations, hazards associated with changes 
in the workplace, emergency hazards, hazard assessment and 
prioritization, and hazard identification tools);
    4. Hazard prevention and control (including items such as what 
hazards must be controlled, hazard control priorities, and the 
effectiveness of the controls);
    5. Education and training (including items such as content of 
training, relationship to other OSHA training requirements, and 
periodic training); and
    6. Program evaluation and improvement (including items such as 
monitoring performance, correcting program deficiencies, and improving 
program performance).
    Are these the appropriate elements? Which elements are essential 
for an effective approach? Should additional elements be included?
    <bullet> How can OSHA ensure that small business employers are able 
to implement and maintain an effective I2P2?
    <bullet> Should an OSHA I2P2 rule apply to every business or should 
it be limited in some way based on an employer's size, industry, 
incident rates, and/or hazard indices?
    <bullet> To what extent should OSHA rely on existing consensus 
standards in developing a rule?
    <bullet> How can OSHA use state experience with injury and illness 
prevention in developing a rule?
    <bullet> What mechanisms have been found to be effective for 
enabling employees to participate in safety and health in the 
workplace?
    <bullet> Given the variety of names used to describe processes to 
reduce injuries and illnesses in the workplace, what is the most 
appropriate name for OSHA to describe this topic?

III. Public Participation

    Approximately 50 participants will be accommodated in each meeting, 
and eight hours will be allotted for each meeting. Members of the 
general public may observe, but not participate in, the meetings on a 
first-come, first-served basis as space permits. OSHA staff will be 
present to take part in the discussions. Logistics for the meetings are 
being managed by Eastern Research Group (ERG), which will provide a 
facilitator and compile notes summarizing the discussion; these notes 
will not identify individual speakers. ERG also will make an audio 
recording of each session to ensure that the summary notes are 
accurate; these recordings will not be transcribed. The summary notes 
will be available on OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov.

[[Page 23640]]

    Specific information on the location of each meeting can be found 
on the I2P2 Web site at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/osha/register-osha-I2P2.htm.
    To participate in one of the stakeholder meetings, or be a 
nonparticipating observer, you may submit notice of intent 
electronically, by facsimile, or by hard copy. In order to encourage as 
wide a range of viewpoints as possible, OSHA will confirm participants 
as necessary to ensure a fair representation of interests and to 
facilitate gathering diverse viewpoints. To receive a confirmation of 
your participation 1 week before the meeting, register by the date 
listed in the DATES section of this notice. However, registration will 
remain open until the meetings are full. Additional nonparticipating 
observers that do not register for the meeting will be accommodated as 
space permits. See the ADDRESSES section of this notice for the 
registration Web site, facsimile number, and address. To register 
electronically, follow the instructions provided on the Web site. To 
register by mail or facsimile, please indicate the following:
    <bullet> Name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail.
    <bullet> Meeting location you would like to attend.
    <bullet> Organization for which you work.
    <bullet> Organization you represent (if different).
    <bullet> Stakeholder category: Government, industry, standards-
developing organization, research or testing agency, union, trade 
association, insurance, consultant, or other (if other, please 
specify).
    <bullet> Industry sector (if applicable).
    Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice, as well as news 
releases and other relevant documents, are available on the OSHA Web 
page at: http://www.osha.gov.

IV. Authority and Signature

    This document was prepared under the direction of David Michaels, 
PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and 
Health, U.S. Department of Labor, pursuant to sections 4, 6, and 8 of 
the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 
657), 29 CFR part 1911, and Secretary's Order 5-2007 (72 FR 31160).

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 12, 2010.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-10138 Filed 5-3-10; 8:45 am]
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