OSHA Revises Jurisdiction Over Puerto Rico and Maryland State Plans

OSHA Issues Clarifications on State Plan Jurisdiction

OSHA published notices clarifying its jurisdiction over State Plan programs in Puerto Rico and Maryland. The agency issued the Puerto Rico notice on April 24 and the Maryland notice on April 27, according to Safety+Health Magazine.

Puerto Rico State Plan Revisions

The April 24 notice revises the Puerto Rico State Plan’s operational status agreement originally signed in 1981. The revision process started after an April 4 letter from Puerto Rico’s Assistant Secretary of Labor Nelvin Rodriguez-Sanchez. The letter stated that PR OSHA lacks resources to investigate private-sector employees working on federal land or property where federal employees perform official duties, at federal government-owned contractor-operated sites, on federal property under construction, and in marine construction.

Under the prior OSA, federal OSHA held enforcement coverage only for contractors or subcontractors on federal establishments when the State Plan could not obtain entry and held no coverage over marine construction by private-sector employers. Federal OSHA now has enforcement authority over private-sector employers at U.S. military installations while PR OSHA covers state and local government employees at those sites. Federal OSHA also covers federal government employees including U.S. Postal Service employees and contractors. The agency covers all working conditions of aircraft cabin crewmembers onboard aircraft in operation.

The new OSA allows federal OSHA to inspect and enforce at an entire project or facility when both federal and State Plan authorities have overlapping jurisdiction for administrative practicability.

Maryland State Plan Updates

The April 27 notice states that federal OSHA has jurisdiction over private-sector employees on land or property owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees are regularly present, at federally owned contractor-operated sites, and on federal property under construction. Both Maryland OSHA and federal OSHA state that the arrangement ensures prompt and effective protection of such workers.

Source Documentation

These changes appear in official OSHA notices referenced by Safety+Health Magazine at https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/osha-clarifies-its-jurisdiction-over-two-state-plans/.