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1 1 (August 13, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbfj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E.$~ & August 13, 2020 OSHA Jurisdiction Over Public Schools and Other State and Local Government Entities As states and their public school systems consider how to provide education to students during the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, they must consider the safety and health of their students and the potential occupational exposure of their teachers and other employees, including support staff and transportation providers, to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19. In 24 states and the District of Columbia, local educational agencies (LEAs), such as public school districts, and other state and local government entities are not subject to federal regulation, inspection, or enforcement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or state regulation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act). LEAs in these states may be covered by OSHA-approved state occupational safety and health plans (state plans) or other state laws. OS, ,,st ct ve.r St - . Section 3(5) of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. §652(5)) defines an employer for the purposes of federal jurisdiction of OSHA as follows: The term employer means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include ... any State or political subdivision of a State. Therefore, state and local government entities, including LEAs, are not considered employers under the OSH Act and thus are not subject to OSHA'sfederal regulation, inspection, or enforcement. However, they may be covered by OSHA-approved state plans. Private schools are considered employers under the act and are subject to federal OSHA jurisdiction, as are some charter schools, depending on their administrative structure and governance. Section 18 of the OSH Act (29 U.S.C. §667) authorizes states to establish their own state plans and preempt federal OSHA standards and enforcement. OSHA must approve state plans if they are at least as effective as OSHA's standards and enforcement. In addition, state plans must provide coverage for state and local government entities as employers. OSHA may provide matching grants to states to cover up to one-half of their state plan operating costs. Currently, 21 states and Puerto Rico have OSHA-approved state plans that cover all employers in the state, including state and local government entities, and five states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have state plans that cover only state and local and local government employers, including LEAs. OSHA estimates that state plans cover approximately 40% of workers in the United States. State plans may incorporate OSHA standards by reference, or establish their own standards that meet the at least as effective test required for OSHA approval. OSHA can terminate state plans that fail to remain at least as effective as the federal system. Table I. OSHA-Approved State Plans Covers State and Local Government Covers All Employers Employers Only Alaska New Mexico Connecticut Arizona North Carolina Illinois California Oregon Maine Hawaii South Carolina New Jersey Indiana Tennessee New York Iowa Utah U.S. Virgin Islands Kentucky Vermont Maryland Virginia Michigan Washington Minnesota Wyoming Nevada Puerto Rico Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) table with data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). States that do not have OSHA-approved state plans may have their own occupational safety and health laws that cover some or all state and local government entities, including LEAs. However, these laws are not required to be at least as effective as OSHA standards or enforcement, are not in any way regulated by OSHA or the federal government, and are not eligible for OSHA grants. The exemption for state and local government entities was part of the original 1970 OSH Act. At the time, numerous states had their own occupational safety and health laws, and there was concern in Congress about having the federal government usurp these state authorities. Concerns about the OSH Act's lack of federal jurisdiction over state and local government employers were addressed by the Section 18 provisions requiring states with state plans to cover such p\w gnom ggmm mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LIANJILiN,

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