Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

Food Service Manual for Health Care Institutions
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The William Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, enacted by Congress in April
1971, mandated safe and healthful working conditions. The act established OSHA as the federal
agency that administers legislation within the U.S. Department of Labor. The goal of the
act is “. . . to assure, so far as possible, safe and healthful working conditions, and to preserve
human resources for every working man and woman.” The act covers every employee of a private
commercial business with one or more employees. (Different federal laws and government
agencies regulate other workplaces, and so their employees are not covered by OSHA regulations.)
Health care institutions of all kinds fall under the jurisdiction of OSHA, although state
and local governments are exempt from these standards. Individual states also have the power
to establish occupational safety programs for their employees.
OSHA Record Keeping
An OSHA regulation (29 CFR 1904.2–8) requires that employers gather and record all available
information about work-related accidents and illnesses that occur in the workplace.
Federal regulations require employers with eleven or more employees at any time during the
preceding calendar year to complete OSHA Forms 100, 101, and 102, to be maintained for five
years (excluding the current year). Forms 100 and 101 must be kept current to within six days.
Form 102 must summarize all occupational injuries and illnesses for each calendar year and be
posted in the workplace no later than February 1 each year and remain posted until March 1.
The forms must be posted even if there were no injuries or illnesses during the calendar year,
with zero entered on the total lines. Employers must keep records of all work-related accidents
and illnesses, including those that result in any of the following:
• A fatality
• A loss of consciousness
• A lost workday or workdays
• A need for medical treatment
• An employee’s transfer or termination
• A death or the hospitalization of five or more employees
• A need for employees to be advised of excessive exposure to hazardous substances
In addition, employers are required to post one full-size (10-by-16-inch) OSHA poster
(OSHA 2203), or a state-approved poster where required, in the workplace. The purpose of
the poster is to inform employees of their rights under OSHA regulations.
OSHA also encourages states to develop and operate their own OSHA-approved workplace
safety and health programs, which the federal agency monitors to determine its level of
commitment and effectiveness. OSHA uses quarterly reports and semiannual evaluations as
tools to oversee state plans, and each quarter states having their own programs submit a summary
of their enforcement and standards activities. After analyzing each state’s progress toward
meeting its standards and enforcement goals, OSHA conducts investigations of the performance
of individual states and summarizes its findings in a comprehensive report that is submitted
to the state every six months. The state is then given an opportunity to respond to the
report and the recommendations.
OSHA Inspections
To determine whether a workplace is safe and healthful, OSHA officials are allowed to enter a
place of business at any time for purposes of inspection. They may do so either in response to
complaints filed against an employer or as part of a random inspection. On-site inspections
also are conducted when OSHA has reason to suspect imminent employee endangerment and
when a fatal accident or other catastrophe has occurred at the work site.