[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 9]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1975.4]

[Page 195-196]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                          OF LABOR--(CONTINUED)
 
PART 1975--COVERAGE OF EMPLOYERS UNDER THE WILLIAMS-STEIGER OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1975.4  Coverage.

    (a) General. Any employer employing one or more employees would be 
an ``employer engaged in a business affecting commerce who has 
employees'' and, therefore, he is covered by the Act as such.
    (b) Clarification as to certain employers--(1) The professions, such 
as physicians, attorneys, etc. Where a member of a profession, such as 
an attorney or physician, employs one or more employees such member 
comes within the definition of an employer as defined in the Act and 
interpreted thereunder and, therefore, such member is covered as an 
employer under the Act and required to comply with its provisions and 
with the regulations issued thereunder to the extent applicable.
    (2) Agricultural employers. Any person engaged in an agricultural 
activity employing one or more employees comes within the definition of 
an employer under the Act, and therefore, is covered by its provisions. 
However, members of the immediate family of the farm employer are not 
regarded as employees for the purposes of this definition.
    (3) Indians. The Williams-Steiger Act contains no special provisions 
with respect to different treatment in the case of Indians. It is well 
settled that under statutes of general application, such as

[[Page 196]]

the Williams-Steiger Act, Indians are treated as any other person, 
unless Congress expressly provided for special treatment. ``FPC v. 
Tuscarora Indian Nation,'' 362 U.S. 99, 115-118 (1960); ``Navajo Tribe 
v. N.L.R.B.,'' 288 F.2d 162, 164-165 (D.C. Cir. 1961), cert. den. 366 
U.S. 928 (1961). Therefore, provided they otherwise come within the 
definition of the term ``employer'' as interpreted in this part, Indians 
and Indian tribes, whether on or off reservations, and non-Indians on 
reservations, will be treated as employers subject to the requirements 
of the Act.
    (4) Nonprofit and charitable organizations. The basic purpose of the 
Williams-Steiger Act is to improve working environments in the sense 
that they impair, or could impair, the lives and health of employees. 
Therefore, certain economic tests such as whether the employer's 
business is operated for the purpose of making a profit or has other 
economic ends, may not properly be used as tests for coverage of an 
employer's activity under the Williams-Steiger Act. To permit such 
economic tests to serve as criteria for excluding certain employers, 
such as nonprofit and charitable organizations which employ one or more 
employees, would result in thousands of employees being left outside the 
protections of the Williams-Steiger Act in disregard of the clear 
mandate of Congress to assure ``every working man and woman in the 
Nation safe and healthful working conditions *  *  *''. Therefore, any 
charitable or non-profit organization which employs one or more 
employees is covered under the Williams-Steiger Act and is required to 
comply with its provisions and the regulations issued thereunder. (Some 
examples of covered charitable or non-profit organizations would be 
disaster relief organizations, philanthropic organizations, trade 
associations, private educational institutions, labor organizations, and 
private hospitals.)
    (c) Coverage of churches and special policy as to certain church 
activities--(1) Churches. Churches or religious organizations, like 
charitable and nonprofit organizations, are considered employers under 
the Act where they employ one or more persons in secular activities. As 
a matter of enforcement policy, the performance of, or participation in, 
religious services (as distinguished from secular or proprietary 
activities whether for charitable or religion-related purposes) will be 
regarded as not constituting employment under the Act. Any person, while 
performing religious services or participating in them in any degree is 
not regarded as an employer or employee under the Act, notwithstanding 
the fact that such person may be regarded as an employer or employee for 
other purposes--for example, giving or receiving remuneration in 
connection with the performance of religious services.
    (2) Examples. Some examples of coverage of religious organizations 
as employers would be: A private hospital owned or operated by a 
religious organization; a private school or orphanage owned or operated 
by a religious organization; commercial establishments of religious 
organizations engaged in producing or selling products such as alcoholic 
beverages, bakery goods, religious goods, etc.; and administrative, 
executive, and other office personnel employed by religious 
organizations. Some examples of noncoverage in the case of religious 
organizations would be: Clergymen while performing or participating in 
religious services; and other participants in religious services; 
namely, choir masters, organists, other musicians, choir members, 
ushers, and the like.