An Act To Update Maine Law To Conform to New Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations

Emergency preamble. Whereas,  acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas,  the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration implemented changes to its injury and illness recordkeeping requirements that became effective January 1, 2015; and

Whereas,  the State became a so-called state plan state for public sector employers in an effort to decrease General Fund costs and employer costs; and

Whereas,  state plan states must conform their statutes to the new federal provisions no later than July 1, 2015; and

Whereas,  the State's lack of compliance with the injury and illness recordkeeping requirements would cause loss of reimbursement to the State; and

Whereas,  in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §2,  as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 244, §1, is amended to read:

§ 2. Reports of deaths and injuries

Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §44, first ¶,  as amended by PL 2013, c. 473, §2, is further amended to read:

The director as state factory inspector, and any authorized agent of the bureau, may enter any workplace as defined in section 1, provided by the State or by a state agency, county, municipal corporation, school district or other public corporation or political subdivision when the same are open or in operation, for the purpose of gathering facts and statistics under sections 42 to 44, and may examine the methods of protecting employees from danger , the safety and health of employees and the sanitary conditions in and around the such buildings and places, and may make a record of such inspection. Upon petition of the director, a Superior Court in the county in which any refusal to permit entry or fact gathering or inspection was alleged to have occurred may order appropriate injunctive relief against any person in charge of the workplace who refuses entry to the director or authorized agent of the bureau.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill ensures that the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards is in compliance with recent changes made by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to its injury and illness recordkeeping requirements. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires state plan states to implement these changes to conform to the new requirements no later than July 1, 2015, or risk a loss of federal reimbursement.

Under current law, a person in charge of a workplace is required to report in writing or by telephone to the Director of the Bureau of Labor Standards the death of any person in the workplace or a serious physical injury requiring hospitalization sustained by a person in the workplace. This bill replaces the requirement to report in writing or by telephone with a requirement to report by telephone or electronically and provides that the report may be made to the director or the director's designee. It amends the definition of "serious physical injury." It also authorizes the director and any authorized agent of the bureau to enter a public sector workplace for the purpose of examining the safety and health of employees.