If you’re covered by a state plan, is federal OSHA activity important? 

State Plan States are required to have standards, policies and procedures at least as effective as those of Federal OSHA and to respond to significant new changes to the Federal program.  So when OSHA issues a new standard or directive, a state has 6 months to implement.  A state can choose to adopt the exact federal standard or implement its own version as long as the new standard is as effective as the underlying federal regulation.

A wise safety professional pays attention to the federal activity in addition to proposed and enacted state safety laws.

There is an interesting page on OSHA’s website that shows what each state is doing in response to Federal standards and directives.

Where the State has adopted a standard or policy that is different than the Federal, the table provides either a direct link to the State’s standard, policy or procedure posted on a State website, or information on how to obtain a copy from the State.

In addition, each new Federal standard or directive posted on OSHA’s website will link back to the appropriate table on this page - 6 months after issuance.   Shown below is link to OSHA’s Interlinked State Plan Standards/Policies/Directives. http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/std_fpc.html 

Currently 25 states are governed by a state OSHA plan. They are:  Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut*, Hawaii, Illinois*, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey*, New Mexico, New York*, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. *Plan covers public sector employees only.