[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1904.13]

[Page 47-48]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                                OF LABOR
 
PART 1904--RECORDING AND REPORTING OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1904.13  Petitions for recordkeeping exceptions.

    (a) Submission of petition. Any employer who wishes to maintain 
records in a manner different from that required by this part may submit 
a petition containing the information specified in paragraph (c) of this 
section to the Regional Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
wherein the establishment involved is located.
    (b) Opportunity for comment. Affected employees or their 
representatives shall have an opportunity to submit written data, views, 
or arguments concerning the petition to the Regional Commissioner 
involved within 10 working days following the receipt of notice under 
paragraph (c)(5) of this section.
    (c) Contents of petition. A petition filed under paragraph (a) of 
this section shall include:
    (1) The name and address of the applicant;
    (2) The address of the place or places of employment involved;
    (3) Specifications of the reasons for seeking relief;
    (4) A description of the different recordkeeping procedures which 
are proposed by the applicant;
    (5) A statement that the applicant has informed his affected 
employees of the petition by giving a copy thereof to them or to their 
authorized representative and by posting a statement giving a summary of 
the petition and by other appropriate means. A statement posted pursuant 
to this subparagraph shall be posted in each establishment in the same 
manner that notices are required to be posted under Sec. 1903.2(a) of 
this chapter. The applicant shall also state that he has informed his 
affected employees of their rights under paragraph (b) of this section;
    (6) In the event an employer has more than one establishment he 
shall submit a list of the States in which such establishments are 
located and the number of establishments in each such State. In the 
further event that certain of the employer's establishments would not be 
affected by the petition, the employer shall identify every 
establishment which would be affected by the petition and give the State 
in which they are located.
    (d) Referrals to Assistant Commissioner. Whenever a Regional 
Commissioner receives a petition from an employer having one or more 
establishments beyond the geographic boundary of his region, or a 
petition from a class of employers having any establishment beyond the 
boundary of his region, he shall refer the petition to the Assistant 
Commissioner for action.
    (e) Additional Notice, Conferences. (1) In addition to the actual 
notice provided for in paragraph (c)(5) of this section, the Assistant 
Commissioner, or the Regional Commissioner, as the case may be, may 
provide, or cause to be provided, such additional notice of the petition 
as he may deem appropriate.
    (2) The Assistant Commissioner or the Regional Commissioner, as the 
case may be, may also afford an opportunity to interested parties for 
informal conference or hearing concerning the petition.
    (f) Action. After review of the petition, and of any comments 
submitted in regard thereto, and upon completion of any necessary 
appropriate investigation concerning the petition, if the Regional 
Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner, as the case may be, finds 
that the alternative procedure proposed will not hamper or interfere 
with the purposes of the Act and will provide equivalent information, he 
may grant the petition subject to such conditions as he may determine 
appropriate, and subject to revocation for cause.
    (g) Publication. Whenever any relief is granted to an applicant 
under this Act, notice of such relief, and the reasons

[[Page 48]]

therefor, shall be published in the Federal Register.
    (h) Revocation. Whenever any relief under this section is sought to 
be revoked for any failure to comply with the conditions thereof, an 
opportunity be afforded to the employers and affected employees, or 
their representatives. Except in cases of willfulness or where public 
safety or health requires otherwise, before the commencement of any such 
informal proceeding, the employer shall:
    (1) Be notified in writing of the facts or conduct which may warrant 
the action; and
    (2) Be given an opportunity to demonstrate or achieve compliance.
    (i) Compliance after submission of petitions. The submission of a 
petition or any delay by the Regional Commissioner, or the Assistant 
Commissioner, as the case may be, in acting upon a petition shall not 
relieve any employer from any obligation to comply with this part. 
However, the Regional Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner, as the 
case may be, shall give notice of the denial of any petition within a 
reasonable time.
    (j) Consultation. There shall be consultation between the 
appropriate representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration and the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to insure the 
effective implementation of this section.

[36 FR 12612, July 2, 1971, as amended at 37 FR 737, Jan. 18, 1972; 42 
FR 65166, Dec. 30, 1977]