Definitions and interpretations

Under 1903.22(a), "Act" means the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.).

• This definition is the baseline legal reference for the rest of part 1903 and tells you which federal statute OSHA enforces. See Part 1903 general provisions for context.

Under 1903.22(b), the definitions and interpretations contained in section 3 of the Act apply to any terms used in part 1903.

• That means when a term used in part 1903 is defined in section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, that statutory definition controls how OSHA interprets the term in enforcement and procedure documents. See Part 1903 general provisions for related rules.

Under 1903.22(c), "working days" are Monday through Friday and exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays; the day of receipt is not counted but the last day is.

• Practical steps: start counting on the first Monday–Friday after the notice arrives, skip weekends and Federal holidays, and include the fifteenth working day as the deadline. This is the rule OSHA uses when it says ‘‘15 working days’’ in Part 1903.

Under 1903.22(d), a Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) is a person authorized by OSHA to conduct inspections; 1903.22(g) defines "inspection" to include complaint inspections, reinspections, follow-up inspections, accident investigations, and other inspections under section 8(a) of the Act.

• In short: a CSHO is an OSHA-authorized inspector and may perform any inspection described in 1903.22(g), including complaint-driven and accident investigations.

Under 1903.22(e), an Area Director is the employee in charge of an OSHA Area Office (regularly or temporarily), and they may delegate authority to act for them—including delegations to a CSHO for specified duties.

• Delegations may be general or for limited purposes such as duties under 1903.14(a).
• A supervisor exercising authority over an Area Director is considered to have concurrent authority.

Under 1903.22(f), an Assistant Regional Director is the employee in charge of an OSHA Region (regularly or temporarily) or a person specifically designated to act in that person's absence; supervisory employees may exercise concurrent authority.

• The paragraph also states that no delegation under this paragraph shall adversely affect the procedures for independent informal review of investigative determinations prescribed under 1903.12.

Yes. Under 1903.22(g), an "inspection" includes any inspection conducted pursuant to a complaint filed under 1903.11(a) and 1903.11(c).

• In practice this means OSHA will treat a valid employee complaint investigation as an official inspection under part 1903.

No. OSHA's interpretation is that intermittent or looping electronic displays do not satisfy the requirement that notices be "readily available and accessible to all employees at all times." See the November 5, 2014 Letter of Interpretation on electronic posting.

• OSHA recommends posting physical copies of required notices in a conspicuous location (e.g., near the monitor or on the breakroom wall) so employees can access them any time.
• For the underlying posting requirement see Part 1903 general provisions.

No. OSHA's interpretation states that employers must not cover OSHA notices with other material; stacking posters so the OSHA notice is covered and not immediately visible does not meet the requirement. See the June 15, 2023 Letter of Interpretation on poster display requirements.

• The regulatory text at 29 CFR 1903.2 requires notices to be posted in a conspicuous place and not covered or defaced; the LOI clarifies that covered notices that require workers to manually locate them are not compliant.

No. The standard requires posting the OSHA notice but does not require it to be in a foreign language; however, OSHA encourages employers with Spanish-speaking employees to post an additional Spanish version. See the November 12, 2004 Letter of Interpretation on OSHA poster language requirements.

• If you have many non-English-speaking workers, posting translated notices is a best practice but not a federal requirement under 29 CFR 1903.2.

If employees report to a central office, post the OSHA notice there; if employees operate from a location that serves as their base, the notice should be posted at that operating location. See the May 22, 1998 Letter of Interpretation on poster posting requirements.

• For mobile operations with no walls (for example vending carts), OSHA recommends posting at the central office where employees report or at the location that serves as the base of operations so the poster is readily visible to employees.

No. Posting the OSHA workplace rights poster does not meet the separate notification requirements for employee exposure and medical records under 29 CFR 1910.1020(g)(1). See the July 16, 2018 Letter of Interpretation on employee exposure records notification.

• Employers must inform employees, at hire and at least annually, about the existence, location, and availability of exposure and medical records and the person responsible for those records, and must provide the records within 15 working days on request (see 1910.1020(e) for record access).

Generally no—OSHA normally will not issue an additional citation for the exact same condition, equipment, and location that is already under contest; however, OSHA reserves the right to take other enforcement actions, including seeking immediate relief for imminent danger. See the September 11, 2023 Letter of Interpretation on contesting citations.

• The LOI also explains that once a notice of contest is filed, OSHA normally ceases investigatory activities in that case absent concurrence from the Regional Solicitor and that abatement and penalty obligations are suspended until adjudication or settlement.

Under 1903.22(c), the day of receipt is not counted, so counting begins the next working day (normally the following Monday unless it's a Federal holiday).

• Weekends and Federal holidays are not working days and are skipped when computing the 15 working days; include the fifteenth working day as the deadline.

Under 1903.22(g), complaint inspections are included in the definition of inspection, and 1903.11(a) and 1903.11(c) set out complaint procedures and types of complaints that may prompt an inspection.

• Whether a written complaint is required depends on the type of complaint and local procedures in 1903.11; OSHA will evaluate and may conduct an inspection based on the complaint information provided.

Yes. 1903.22(e) states that supervisory employees exercising responsibilities over an Area Director are considered to exercise concurrent authority with the Area Director.

• That means authorized supervisory personnel can carry out Area Director duties to the same extent as the Area Director for matters covered by the delegation.

No. 1903.22(f) explicitly states no delegation under that paragraph shall adversely affect the procedures for independent informal review of investigative determinations prescribed under 1903.12.

• Employers retain their informal review rights under 1903.12 regardless of delegations of authority within OSHA's regional management.

If the company has a continuous physical presence at a client site expected to exist for one year or longer, that site is treated as a separate "establishment" and requires its own OSHA 300 log; short-term sites (less than one year) may be covered by a single log per company. See the February 28, 2014 Letter of Interpretation on recordkeeping for multiple businesses and Part 1903 general provisions for context.

• The definition of "establishment" and the duty to keep separate logs appear in 29 CFR 1904.46 and 1904.30; the LOI explains practical application when employees work at multiple client sites.

Yes. OSHA's Enhanced Enforcement Policy (described in the March 12, 2003 memorandum) states OSHA may conduct follow-up on-site inspections at the originating establishment and may prioritize inspections of other establishments of the same overall corporate employer following a High Gravity Citation Case. See the March 12, 2003 Enhanced Enforcement Policy and 1903.22(g).

• The policy focuses on employers with willful, repeat, high-gravity, or failure-to-abate problems and allows broader inspection activity to verify abatement and detect similar violations.

No. OSHA's interpretation of 29 CFR 1926.652(g)(2) (discussed in the July 29, 2005 Letter of Interpretation) states that employees should not be in the trench when a shield is more than 2 feet above the bedding unless the shield is specifically designed for the full depth and there are no indications of possible soil loss; removing employees before moving the shield is a compliant work practice. See the July 29, 2005 Letter of Interpretation on cave-in protection.

• The LOI explains practical options such as removing workers before moving the trench box so both OSHA requirements and safe-bedding practices are met.

Employers must establish a reasonable procedure for employees to report work-related injuries and illnesses, inform employees about that procedure, and must not discriminate or retaliate against employees who report. See the November 10, 2016 memorandum on enforcement procedures for new recordkeeping requirements and Part 1903 general provisions.

• The memorandum provides interim enforcement guidance, including referral procedures to the Whistleblower Protection Program for possible retaliation claims.