Source: http://blog.msdsbinder.com/2011/11/osha-letter-of-interpretation-hazcom.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 10:09:20+00:00

Document:
MSDS - Material Safety Data Sheets: OSHA Letter of Interpretation: Hazcom intended to preempt state regulatory actions, but not tort claims.
OSHA Letter of Interpretation: Hazcom intended to preempt state regulatory actions, but not tort claims.
The Hazard Communication standard was given because millions of American workers work with and are potentially exposed to hazardous chemicals, but many employers and employees know little or nothing about the often serious hazards of those chemicals. 59 Fed. Reg. 6126 (Feb. 9, 1994); 48 Fed. Reg. 53280, 53282-83 (Nov. 25, 1983). Chemical exposure may cause or contribute to many serious health effects such as heart ailments, central nervous system, kidney and lung damage, sterility, cancer, burns, and rashes. Id. Some chemicals also have the potential to cause fires, explosions and other serious accidents. Id. There are an estimated 650,000 existing chemical products, and many new ones introduced annually. Id.
The standard establishes uniform requirements to make sure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or used in U.S. workplaces are evaluated, and that this hazard information is transmitted to affected employers and exposed employees. 29 CFR § 1910.1200(a)(l). It sets up a "downstream flow of information" requirement, whereby manufacturers of chemicals have the primary responsibility for generating and disseminating information about chemical hazards. 29 C.F.R. §1910.1200(b)(l). Employers using the chemicals must obtain this information and inform their employees of the hazards and the identities of workplace chemicals to which they are exposed. 29 C.F.R. §1910.1200(b)(2).
In addition to these workplace protections, the standard had a secondary purpose: it sought to "reduce the burden on interstate commerce produced by conflicting state and local regulations" relating to the identification of hazardous chemicals. 48 Fed. Reg. at 53334; id. at 53283 (noting "recent proliferation of state and local right-to-know laws," which subjected chemical manufacturers to "numerous different and potentially conflicting regulations"); id. at 53284 (explaining that twelve states and six local governments had enacted differing hazard communication laws and thirteen other states and three local governments were considering such enactments); id. ("The potential for conflicting or cumulatively burdensome State and local laws has been acknowledged by industry representatives to be immense").
[t]his occupational safety and health standard [the Hazcom standard] is intended to address comprehensively the issue of evaluating the potential hazards of chemicals, and communicating information concerning hazards and protective measures to employees, and to preempt any legal requirements of a state, or political subdivision of a state, pertaining to this subject.
As explained more fully below, these "legal requirements of a state ..." were limited to positive enactments of laws and regulations, and do not include the duties and remedies recognized only by tort law.
A typical failure to warn tort claim involves an allegation that a manufacturer (or employer) failed to provide adequate warning about the risk of harm associated with a chemical or other product or its use. All reported decisions we have found have held that §1910.1200(a)(2) does not preempt state tort claims alleging inadequate warnings of chemical hazards. See, e.g., In re Welding Fume Prods. Liab. Litig., 364 F.Supp.2d 669, 693 (N.D.Ohio 2005); Anderson v. Airco, Inc., 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13765,2003 WL 21842085 (D.De1. July 28, 2003) York v. Union Carbide Corp., 586 N.E.2d 861, 866 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992); Fullen v. Philips Electronics North Am. Corp., 266 F.Supp.2d 471, 476 (N.D. W.Va. 2002). However, your letter referred to two unpublished cases that held that the standard preempts such state tort law claims. Bass v. Air Products, 2006 WL 1419375 (N.J. Super. A.D. 2006); Vettrus v. Ashland, No. C9-04-817 (Minn. 3d Jud. Dist. 2008).
While we recognize statutory limitations in this area, we believe every effort should be made to see that such a Federal standard preempts State and local efforts.
Moreover, both the Hazcom standard and its preamble state that in order for a state to regulate in this area, it must submit "its intended requirements" to OSHA for approval under section 18 of the OSH Act, 29 USC §667. 48 Fed. Reg. at 53284,53322-23; 29 C.F.R. §1910.1200(a)(2) (no state may adopt or enforce "any requirement" except through state plan approval process). And section 18 governs only positive enactments of state law. Gade, 505 U.S. 103-04 ("If a State wishes to regulate an issue of worker safety for which a federal standard is in effect, its only option is to obtain the prior approval of the Secretary of Labor."). State laws submitted under section 18 must be part of a state plan meeting requirements that are wholly inapposite to tort remedies. Thus, by requiring section 18 approval, Congress made clear that it did not intend for the OSH Act's preemptive effect to extend to the case-by-case judicial development of the common law, and by referring to that provision, OSHA made clear that it understood that the preemption provision in the Hazcom standard could not preempt such common law.
The above analysis reveals that neither the OSH Act nor the Hazcom standard expressly preempts state tort actions. Nor do they contain any indication of Congressional or agency intent to preempt such actions. This conclusion does not mean that a state tort suit could never be preempted on conflict grounds. If the Hazcom standard requires (or prohibits) a specific action that must be specifically performed (or avoided), a state could not make that action (or omission) a tort. Our review of the Hazcom standard and a typical failure to warn claim, however, reveals no such conflict. The underlying duty (allegedly breached) of such a tort claim - the provision of an adequate hazard warning - is not inconsistent with the Hazcom standard. See In re Welding Fume Products Litigation, 364 F. Supp. 2d 669, 694 (N.D. Ohio 2005) (finding "no substantial, clear, or direct conflict between the HazCom Standard and the common law duty to warn invoked by plaintiffs"); Wyeth, 129 S.Ct. at 1197-1199 (no conflict between FDA's label requirements and the common law duty to warn at issue in that case). Therefore, it is the Department of Labor's position that the Hazcom standard, as a general matter, does not preempt state tort failure to warn suits.

References: § 1910
 §1910
 §1910
 §1910
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 §667
 §1910