Subpart E
The Director of NIOSH must assist the Secretary by conducting evaluations of Federal agency safety and health programs, investigating possible safety and health hazards, and performing inspections that result from employee or committee reports of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.
Yes — the Director of NIOSH may assist with inspections that result from employee or committee reports of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.
Requests for a NIOSH Hazard Evaluation may be submitted to the Director of NIOSH by the Secretary of Labor, the head of a Federal agency, an agency safety and health committee if half the committee requests the service, or employees who are not covered by a certified safety and health committee.
It means that a Hazard Evaluation request may be made to the Director of NIOSH when at least half of the members of the agency’s safety and health committee jointly request the service.
Yes — the regulation explicitly allows employees who are not covered by a certified safety and health committee to submit a request for a Hazard Evaluation to the Director of NIOSH.
The NIOSH Hazard Evaluation program is designed to respond to requests for assistance in determining whether safety or health hazards are present in a Federal workplace.
Yes — the Director of NIOSH may provide hazard alerts, technical services, training materials, and conduct training programs for agencies upon request, and such assistance can be provided with reimbursement.
The regulation establishes that NIOSH shall provide a Hazard Evaluation program to respond to requests; it does not require NIOSH to initiate evaluations on its own initiative in the text provided.
The regulation states that requests for Hazard Evaluations may be submitted to the Director of NIOSH, but it does not prescribe a specific form or method for submission in the text provided.
Yes — the Director of NIOSH may assist with inspections that result from employee or committee reports of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.
Federal agencies must follow 29 CFR Part 1960, but Executive Order 12196 and OSHA policy mean that military personnel and uniquely military equipment or operations are generally excluded from OSHA coverage; civilian employees working on non-unique military systems remain covered and may use OSHA/NIOSH mechanisms.
This jurisdictional nuance is explained in the OSHA interpretation on oxygen-deficient atmospheres, which references Executive Order 12196 and 29 CFR Part 1960 in the context of military facilities: Oxygen-deficient atmospheres in HVAC (July 16, 2024).
For the NIOSH assistance authorities themselves, see 1960.35.
Civilian employees, including private contractors performing work under federal government contracts on non-uniquely military equipment or operations, are covered by OSHA requirements and can use OSHA/NIOSH mechanisms; therefore, a contractor who qualifies as a covered civilian employee could be in the category that may request assistance, subject to the eligibility in [1960.35(b)].
Yes — 29 CFR 1960 includes an alternate standards provision that allows an agency to apply an alternate standard where deemed necessary, but the agency must request the Secretary of Labor’s approval beforehand and provide the information required by the regulation.
The regulation authorizes submissions from a committee when half the committee requests the service and establishes that NIOSH shall provide a Hazard Evaluation program to respond to requests; therefore, a request from half the committee is an authorized basis for seeking an HE, and the program exists to respond to such requests.
Yes — 1960.35(c) states that the Director of NIOSH may provide hazard alerts, technical services, training materials and conduct training programs upon request by an agency and with reimbursement, so reimbursement is part of that authorization.
No — 1960.35(b)(4) limits individual employee requests to those who are not covered by a certified safety and health committee; employees covered by such a committee would generally need to use the committee route (e.g., half the committee) or other authorized requestors.
The regulation says NIOSH may provide those services upon request and with reimbursement, which indicates that reimbursement is a condition of providing such services, though the text does not spell out the timing or billing process.
Yes — Hazard Evaluations are designed to determine whether safety or health hazards are present in a Federal workplace, and agencies commonly use HE findings to inform hazard correction and controls, consistent with the assistance authority in 1960.35(b).
No — 1960.35 does not list or limit hazard types; it states the HE program is designed to respond to requests to determine whether safety or health hazards are present in a Federal workplace, which encompasses any recognized safety or health hazards that federal workplaces might encounter.
The authorizing regulation for NIOSH assistance to Federal agencies is found at 29 CFR 1960.35, which describes the Director of NIOSH’s duties to assist with evaluations, investigations, inspections, the Hazard Evaluation program, and provision of hazard alerts and training (with reimbursement).