Tennessee OSHA Law

Tennessee cities must provide employees with working conditions consistent with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1972 (TOSHA), Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 50-3-101 et seq. TOSHA covers state and local government employees, and Tennessee OSHA’s Public Sector Operations conducts public-sector workplace inspections.

Under T.C.A. § 50-3-910, county, municipal, and other local governments must provide employees with working conditions consistent with the objectives of TOSHA and comply with occupational safety and health standards developed under state law.

T.C.A. § 50-3-105 further requires each employer to:

• Furnish employees with employment conditions and a workplace free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious injury or harm.
• Comply with applicable occupational safety and health standards and regulations.
• Permit and assist lawful TOSHA inspections by making reasonably necessary information, personnel, and inspection aids available.

Local Government Compliance Options
Tennessee law gave local governments a one-time election to either be treated as private employers under TOSHA or develop and register their own written compliance program. The election deadline was July 1, 2006, or, for a local government created after July 1, 2004, within two years after its creation. A city should not describe this as a current election available to an existing municipality.

A local government that elected to operate its own compliance program must maintain a written program that incorporates applicable state standards and provides inspection and recordkeeping measures at least as effective as those required by TOSHA. The program must notify employees of applicable regulations and provide instruction on recognizing and avoiding unsafe conditions. Public-sector program participants must designate a safety and health director and establish a safety and health program; TOSHA inspects participating public-sector employers every two years.

For a city that has a validly registered local compliance program, TOSHA inspects and reports noncompliance rather than imposing civil penalties for a violation. The city should confirm its existing election and program-registration status with TOSHA before relying on this provision.

Confined-Space Safety
City employees who work in or support entry into permit-required confined spaces may face hazards such as toxic atmospheres, oxygen deficiency or enrichment, flammable or explosive atmospheres, engulfment, and restricted entry or exit. Common municipal examples include manholes, sewers, vaults, tanks, and certain water or wastewater facilities.

For work covered by 29 C.F.R. § 1910.146 and applicable TOSHA standards, the city must identify and evaluate confined spaces, determine whether a space is permit-required, and implement procedures that protect employees from entry hazards. Depending on the work, this includes a written permit-space program, atmospheric testing and monitoring, isolation of hazards, ventilation, permits, trained entrants/attendants/entry supervisors, communication procedures, and rescue or emergency arrangements.

The city should ensure that public works, water and wastewater, utility, fire, rescue, and emergency medical personnel receive training and equipment appropriate to their assigned duties. Employees who are designated to provide permit-space rescue services require appropriate personal protective equipment and rescue training.

Bloodborne Pathogens
A city must protect employees who have reasonably anticipated occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. This may include certain emergency medical, fire, law-enforcement, public-safety, sanitation, and other employees, depending on their assigned duties.

Under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1030 and applicable TOSHA standards, the city must implement a written Exposure Control Plan designed to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure. The plan must be accessible to covered employees, reviewed at least annually, and updated when changes in duties, procedures, job classifications, or technology affect employee exposure.

The city’s bloodborne-pathogens program must include:

• An exposure determination identifying job classifications and tasks with occupational exposure.
• Universal precautions, meaning blood and other potentially infectious materials are treated as infectious for purposes of the standard.
• Engineering and work-practice controls to eliminate or reduce exposure.
• Appropriate personal protective equipment at no cost to employees with occupational exposure.
• Procedures for housekeeping, sanitation, labeling, handling, and disposal of contaminated materials.
• Initial training when an employee is assigned duties involving occupational exposure, annual training thereafter, and additional training when duties or procedures create new exposure risks.
• Access to the hepatitis B vaccination series at no cost and within 10 working days of initial assignment for covered employees, unless an exception applies.
• Immediate, confidential post-exposure evaluation and follow-up after an exposure incident.
• Required medical and training records.

The city must provide covered employees with the hepatitis B vaccine and required post-exposure evaluation and follow-up at no cost and at a reasonable time and place.

Program Administration
Each city should designate responsible safety personnel, maintain written safety programs, train supervisors and employees for the hazards associated with their jobs, investigate incidents and near misses, correct identified hazards promptly, and retain required safety and medical records.

Because job duties and regulatory requirements vary, city departments should coordinate with the city’s designated safety and health director, TOSHA, and qualified safety or legal advisors when developing confined-space, bloodborne-pathogens, respiratory-protection, hazardous-communications, emergency-response, and other safety programs.