Definitions and key terms

"Act" means the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 651-678. This is the statutory law that gives OSHA and the Commission their authority and is defined in 2200.1(a) and generally described in [Part 2200] (https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/2200).

Those terms have the meanings set out in section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In other words, when you see "Commission," "person," "employer," or "employee" in these rules, they are defined by the Act itself as referenced in 2200.1(b) and by the authority of Part 2200.

The "Secretary" is the Secretary of Labor or the Secretary's duly authorized representative. This means actions taken by the Secretary in these rules may be carried out by an authorized official acting on the Secretary's behalf as defined in 2200.1(c).

The "Executive Secretary" refers to the Executive Secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. That is the Commission officer who handles administrative duties for Commission proceedings, as defined in 2200.1(d).

An "affected employee" is an employee of a cited employer who is exposed to or has access to the hazard arising out of the alleged violative circumstances, conditions, practices, or operations. In practice, an employee qualifies if they either are exposed to the hazard or have access to the area or condition that creates the hazard, per 2200.1(e).

• If a worker regularly works where the hazard exists or can reach it, they are typically an affected employee.
• If a worker is only remotely informed about the hazard but cannot access or be exposed to it, they may not be an affected employee.

A "Judge" means an Administrative Law Judge appointed under section 12(e) of the Act. That is the official who presides over hearings in Review Commission proceedings, as defined in 2200.1(f).

An "authorized employee representative" is a labor organization that has a collective bargaining relationship with the cited employer and that represents affected employees who are members of the collective bargaining unit. A union acts as an authorized representative only when it has that collective bargaining relationship and represents members of the bargaining unit, as stated in 2200.1(g).

A "Representative" is any person, including an authorized employee representative, authorized by a party or intervenor to represent it in a proceeding. This means employers, employees, unions, or intervenors may designate anyone to act on their behalf, under the definition in 2200.1(h).

A "Citation" is a written communication issued by the Secretary to an employer under section 9(a) of the Act that identifies alleged violations. When a citation is issued, it formally notifies the employer of alleged violations and may include proposed penalties; the definition appears in 2200.1(i).

• OSHA may publish citations and proposed penalties on its website as part of public information; see the OSHA interpretation on web postings at OSHA website citation postings for details on what is typically posted.

A "Notification of proposed penalty" is a written communication issued by the Secretary to an employer under section 10(a) or (b) of the Act proposing a penalty amount for an alleged violation. Unlike a citation, which identifies the alleged violation and conditions, a notification of proposed penalty specifically informs the employer of the monetary amount proposed, as defined in 2200.1(j).

"Day" means a calendar day. That means when a rule refers to a number of days, you count every calendar day (including weekends and holidays) unless the rule specifies otherwise, as defined in 2200.1(k).

"Working day" means all days except Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays. So when a deadline is expressed in working days, you exclude weekends and federal holidays from the count, as defined in 2200.1(l).

A "Proceeding" means any proceeding before the Commission or before an Administrative Law Judge. This covers formal hearings, appeals, and other adjudicatory matters under the Commission's jurisdiction, as defined in 2200.1(m).

"Pleadings" are complaints and answers filed under 2200.34, statements of reasons and employers' responses filed under 2200.38, and petitions for modification of abatement and objecting parties' responses filed under 2200.37. A motion is not a pleading under this definition, as stated in 2200.1(n).

• If you need to know whether a document is a pleading for procedural deadlines or service rules, use this definition and the cited filing rules.

No. A motion is not a pleading within the meaning of these rules. The definition in 2200.1(n) explicitly excludes motions, and filing rules for complaints and answers are set out in 2200.34.

OSHA posts citations and proposed penalties on its website and makes many such documents publicly available, but not all settlement agreements are posted. The agency's practice of posting citations and proposed penalties is described in 2200.1(i), and OSHA's interpretation on web postings explains that major settlement agreements are posted while many settlement agreements are not posted but remain subject to FOIA disclosure in OSHA website citation postings.

No, simply hearing about a hazard does not make someone an "affected employee" unless the employee is exposed to or has access to the hazard. The definition requires exposure or access to the hazard arising from the allegedly violative circumstances, as stated in 2200.1(e).

No. An "authorized employee representative" must be a labor organization that has a collective bargaining relationship with the cited employer and that represents affected employees who are members of the collective bargaining unit, per 2200.1(g). Unions that do not have that relationship or do not represent employees in the bargaining unit generally do not qualify under this definition.

It depends on whether the deadline is expressed in "days" or "working days." "Day" means a calendar day and includes weekends and holidays under 2200.1(k), while "Working day" excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays under 2200.1(l). Always check the specific rule or order to see which term is used.

The definitions in 2200.1 apply to the procedures and rules in Part 2200 governing proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and related matters. This means these terms (for example, "citation," "pleadings," "working day") are used throughout Part 2200 and should be read as defined in 2200.1.