State plan criteria requirements

A State plan for public employees must meet the specific criteria set forth in 1956.10(a).

• The plan must address the items identified in the rest of 1956.10 (designation of agency, standards, enforcement, entry and inspection, personnel, resources, records and reporting, etc.).
• The Assistant Secretary evaluates the plan against the indices and procedures described elsewhere in the part when deciding approvability (see 1956.11).

The plan must designate a State agency or agencies that are responsible for administering the plan throughout the State, as required by 1956.10(b)(1).

• You should name the lead agency (and any cooperating agencies) and identify the geographic or program scope for each.
• Make clear which agency has overall authority and administrative control to avoid gaps or overlap in responsibilities.

The plan must describe the authority and responsibilities vested in the designated agency or agencies and include assurances that other duties will not significantly detract from resources assigned to administration of the plan, per 1956.10(b)(2).

• Practical items to document include statutory or regulatory authority to adopt/enforce standards, staff roles, and how the agency will prioritize program work.
• The assurance should explain how non-OSH duties will be managed so they do not reduce staffing, funding, or enforcement capacity for the State plan.

A State agency or agencies must be designated with overall responsibility for administering the plan throughout the State, as stated in 1956.10(b)(3).

• That designated agency remains accountable even if some enforcement or program activities are delegated to other organizations.
• The plan should state clearly which agency is the primary point of accountability for reporting to the Assistant Secretary.

Yes — enforcement may be delegated to an appropriate agency, but the designated agency must ensure provision of necessary qualified personnel, legal authority for enforcement, and reporting, as required by 1956.10(c).

• Delegation should be documented, and the designated agency must retain overall responsibility.
• The plan must show how the delegated agency will meet qualifications (training, legal power to issue orders, and ability to make required reports to the Assistant Secretary).

The State plan must include, or provide for the development or adoption of, standards that are at least as effective as those promulgated under section 6 of the OSH Act, as stated in 1956.10(c).

• The plan must also give assurances that the State will continue to develop or adopt such standards.
• Practically, that means the State must either adopt Federal standards or adopt equivalent or stronger State standards and keep them up to date.

The State's enforcement program for public employees must be, and remain, at least as effective in assuring safe and healthful employment as the Federal program in the private sector, according to 1956.10(d)(1).

• The Assistant Secretary uses the indices in 1956.11(c) to judge effectiveness.
• Enforcement elements to document include inspection frequency, citation/penalty authority, abatement verification procedures, and follow-up inspection policies. See OSHA's enforcement guidance such as the Field Operations Manual for related inspection practices.

The plan must require State and local government agencies to comply with all applicable State occupational safety and health standards included in the plan and require employees to comply with standards, rules, and orders applicable to their conduct, per 1956.10(d)(2).

• Employers (State and local government entities) are accountable to implement the standards, keep records, and correct hazards.
• Employees are required to follow the rules and any lawful orders designed to protect safety and health.

The plan must assure inspectors have a right to enter covered workplaces that is at least as effective as the right provided in section 8 of the Act, and the State must have authority to compel entry by legal process when entry is refused, as required by 1956.10(e).

• The plan should document the legal basis (statute, warrant authority, or court process) the agency will use to gain access when entry is denied.
• Properly issued administrative or judicial procedures for compelled entry should be described so inspections are not blocked.

The State plan must contain a prohibition against advance notice of inspections, and any exceptions may only be expressly authorized by the head of the designated agency or representative and be no broader than those allowed under the Act and the rules in part 1903 relating to advance notice, as stated in 1956.10(f).

• If you plan to allow any advance notice (for example, for certain cooperative programs), the plan must limit who may authorize it and document the narrow circumstances.
• For guidance on practical posting/notice issues tied to part 1903, review OSHA interpretive letters such as the OSHA poster display requirements which explain related posting and notice principles.

The plan must assure that the designated agency and any delegated agencies have, or will have, a sufficient number of adequately trained and qualified personnel necessary for enforcement, with ‘‘qualified’’ meaning merit-based employees involved in standards development and plan administration, as required by 1956.10(g).

• The plan should describe hiring, training, and promotion practices to show positions are merit-based and staff are competent.
• Conformity with merit-system standards (for example, 45 CFR part 70) and Federal staffing guidelines may be relied on to meet this requirement (see the merit system discussion in the part's text).

The plan must provide satisfactory assurances—using budget documents, organizational descriptions, or similar means—that the State will devote adequate funds to administer and enforce the public employee program, as required by 1956.10(h).

• Include current and projected budgets, staffing plans, and any legislative or administrative commitments to funding.
• The Assistant Secretary will periodically evaluate whether the State is devoting adequate resources to the program.

Public employers covered by the State plan must maintain records and make reports on occupational injuries and illnesses in a manner similar to private employers under the Act, as required by 1956.10(i).

• That typically means maintaining OSHA 300/301 logs and reporting serious injuries as required by Federal rules unless the State plan implements equivalent procedures.
• For additional detail on employee exposure and medical record notification obligations, see the Employee exposure records notification letter of interpretation.

The designated State agency must make reasonable reports to the Assistant Secretary in the form and containing the information the Assistant Secretary may from time to time require, and must establish specific goals, performance measures, and periodic reports on how the State is meeting those goals, as required by 1956.10(j).

• Reports should include data on inspections, voluntary compliance activities, staffing, output, and results.
• The plan should describe how performance measures will be tracked and reported to the Assistant Secretary.

No — any exception to the prohibition on advance notice in a State plan must be no broader than those authorized under the Act and the rules published in part 1903 relating to advance notice, as stated in 1956.10(f).

• The plan must limit who can authorize exceptions and the circumstances under which exceptions are allowed.
• For practical posting and notice practices that interface with part 1903, see OSHA's interpretive guidance on poster display and electronic posting such as OSHA poster display requirements and Electronic posting requirements.

The plan must state that where entry is refused, the State agency has authority through appropriate legal process to compel entry, per 1956.10(e).

• Identify the legal tools (warrants, court orders, or other statutory remedies) the agency will use to obtain access.
• Documenting these processes in the plan shows the State can carry out inspections even when employers initially refuse entry.

OSHA generally does not issue an additional citation for the exact same condition, equipment, and location that is already the subject of a citation under contest, but it reserves the right to take enforcement actions necessary to protect workers, including seeking relief for imminent danger, as explained in the Policy on contesting citations.

• For State plans, enforcement programs must remain at least as effective as the Federal program (1956.10(d)(1)).
• If imminent danger exists, the agency may pursue immediate remedies even if a related citation is contested; the LOI describes how OSHA balances contest procedures and worker protection.

A State can meet the ‘‘qualified personnel’’ requirement by employing sufficient, merit-based staff with the training and experience to carry out standards development and enforcement; conformity with the Standards for a Merit System of Personnel Administration (45 CFR part 70) and Federal staffing guidelines will be deemed to meet this requirement, as discussed in 1956.10(g) and the internal merit-system discussion in the part.

• The plan should describe hiring practices, certification/training programs for inspectors, and how staffing levels will be maintained.
• Periodic evaluations by the Assistant Secretary will confirm whether staffing and qualifications remain adequate.

Yes — public employers covered by a State plan must maintain records and make reports on occupational injuries and illnesses in a manner similar to that required of private employers under the Act, according to 1956.10(i).

• That generally means using OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping forms and procedures unless the State plan provides an equivalent method.
• For related recordkeeping enforcement and employee-notification procedures, see OSHA guidance such as the Recordkeeping enforcement procedures and the Employee exposure records notification letter of interpretation.

The Assistant Secretary will use indices of effectiveness for standards and enforcement set out in 1956.11 (see in particular 1956.11(b) for standards and 1956.11(c) for enforcement).

• These indices include measures of how the State develops/adopts standards, enforces them, staffs its program, tracks performance, and reports results.
• The plan should reference these criteria and include measurable goals and performance metrics as required by 1956.10(j).