South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 71 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION-DIVISION OF LABOR › Article 1 - OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS › Subarticle 9 - RULES OF AGENCY PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE CONCERNING SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE MEDICAL RECORDS › Section 71-901 - Scope and Application

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
A. Except
				as provided in paragraphs C through F below, this regulation applies to all
				requests by SC/OSH personnel and by federal OSHA personnel to obtain access to
				records in order to examine or copy personally identifiable employee medical
				information, whether or not pursuant to the access provisions of Article 6,
				Section 1910.20(e).
B. For the
				purposes of this subarticle, "personally identifiable employee medical
				information" means employee medical information accompanied by either direct
				identifier (name, address, social security number, payroll number, etc.) or by
				information which could reasonably be used in the particular circumstances
				indirectly to identify specific employees (e.g., exact age, height, weight,
				race, sex, date of initial employment, job title, etc.)
C. This subarticle does not apply to OSHA
				access to, or the use of, aggregate employee medical information or medical
				records on individual employees which is not in a personally identifiable form.
				This subarticle does not apply to records required by Subarticle 3, to death
				certificates, or to employee exposure records, including biological monitoring
				records treated by Subarticle 6, Section 1910.20(c)(5) or by specific
				occupational safety and health standards as exposure records.
D. This subarticle does not apply where OSHA
				compliance personnel conduct an examination of employee medical records solely
				to verify employer compliance with the medical surveillance recordkeeping
				requirements of an occupational safety and health standard, or with Subarticle
				6, Section 1910.20. An examination of this nature shall be conducted on-site,
				and, if requested, shall be conducted under the observation of the
				recordholder. The OSHA compliance personnel shall not record and take off-site
				any information from medical records other than documentation of the fact of
				compliance or non-compliance.
E.
				This subarticle does not apply to agency access to, or the use of, personally
				identifiable employee medical information obtained in the course of
				litigation.
F. This subarticle does
				not apply where a written directive by the Commissioner of Labor authorizes
				appropriately qualified personnel to conduct limited reviews of specific
				medical information mandated by an occupational safety and health standard, or
				of specific biological monitoring test results.
G. Even if not covered by the terms of this
				subarticle, all medically related information reported in a personally
				identifiable form shall be handled with appropriate discretion and care
				befitting all information concerning specific employees. There may, for
				example, be personal privacy interest involved which militate against
				disclosure of this kind of information to the public.