[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1903.9]

[Page 31-32]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                                OF LABOR
 
PART 1903--INSPECTIONS, CITATIONS AND PROPOSED PENALTIES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1903.9  Trade secrets.

    (a) Section 15 of the Act provides: ``All information reported to or 
otherwise obtained by the Secretary or his representative in connection 
with any inspection or proceeding under this Act which contains or which 
might reveal a trade secret referred to in section 1905 of title 18 of 
the United States Code

[[Page 32]]

shall be considered confidential for the purpose of that section, except 
that such information may be disclosed to other officers or employees 
concerned with carrying out this Act or when relevant in any proceeding 
under this Act. In any such proceeding the Secretary, the Commission, or 
the court shall issue such orders as may be appropriate to protect the 
confidentiality of trade secrets.'' Section 15 of the Act is considered 
a statute within the meaning of section 552(b)(3) of title 5 of the 
United States Code, which exempts from the disclosure requirements 
matters that are ``specifically exempted from disclosure by statute.''
    (b) Section 1905 of title 18 of the United States Code provides: 
``Whoever, being an officer or employee of the United States or of any 
department or agency thereof, publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes 
known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by law any 
information coming to him in the course of his employment or official 
duties or by reason of any examination or investigation made by, or 
return, report or record made to or filed with, such department or 
agency or officer or employee thereof, which information concerns or 
relates to the trade secrets, processes, operations, style of work, or 
apparatus, or to the identity, confidential statistical data, amount or 
source of any income, profits, losses, or expenditures of any person, 
firm, partnership, corporation, or association; or permits any income 
return or copy thereof or any book containing any abstract or 
particulars thereof to be seen or examined by any person except as 
provided by law; shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not 
more than 1 year, or both; and shall be removed from office or 
employment.''
    (c) At the commencement of an inspection, the employer may identify 
areas in the establishment which contain or which might reveal a trade 
secret. If the Compliance Safety and Health Officer has no clear reason 
to question such identification, information obtained in such areas, 
including all negatives and prints of photographs, and environmental 
samples, shall be labeled ``confidential--trade secret'' and shall not 
be disclosed except in accordance with the provisions of section 15 of 
the Act.
    (d) Upon the request of an employer, any authorized representative 
of employees under Sec. 1903.8 in an area containing trade secrets shall be 
an employee in that area or an employee authorized by the employer to 
enter that area. Where there is no such representative or employee, the 
Compliance Safety and Health Officer shall consult with a reasonable 
number of employees who work in that area concerning matters of safety 
and health.