[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 9]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1956.60]

[Page 156-158]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                          OF LABOR (CONTINUED)
 
PART 1956_STATE PLANS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND ENFORCEMENT OF STATE 
 
                          Subpart G_New Jersey
 
Sec. 1956.60  Description of the plan as initially approved.

    Authority: Section 18 of the OSH Act, (29 U.S.C. 667), 29 CFR Part 
1902, 29 CFR 1956, and Secretary of Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 FR 
50017).

    Source: 66 FR 2272, Jan. 11, 2001, unless otherwise noted.


    (a) Authority and scope. The New Jersey State Plan for Public 
Employee Occupational Safety and Health received initial OSHA approval 
on January 11, 2001. The plan designates the New Jersey Department of 
Labor as the State agency responsible for administering the plan 
throughout the State. The plan includes enabling legislation, Public 
Employees Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1995 (N.J.S.A. 34:6A-25 
et seq.), enacted in 1984, and amended on July 25, 1995. Under this 
legislation, the State Commissioner of Labor has full authority to 
enforce and administer all laws and rules protecting the safety and 
health of all employees of the State and its political subdivisions 
under the Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health program 
(PEOSH). The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services has authority 
for occupational health matters including the authority to conduct 
health inspections, investigations and related activities. However, all 
standards adoption and enforcement authority for both occupational 
safety and health remain the responsibility of the New Jersey Department 
of Labor.
    (b) Standards. New Jersey has adopted State standards identical to 
OSHA occupational safety and health standards promulgated as of December 
7, 1998, with differences only in its hazard communication and fire 
protection standards. The State plan includes a commitment to bring 
those two (2) standards into conformance with OSHA requirements and to 
update all standards within one year after plan approval. The State plan 
also provides that future OSHA standards and revisions will be adopted 
by the State within six (6) months of Federal promulgation, in 
accordance with 29 CFR 1953.21. Any emergency temporary standards will 
be adopted within 30 days of Federal adoption. The State will adopt 
Federal OSHA standards in accordance with the provisions of New Jersey 
statute, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-5; Federal standards shall be deemed to be duly 
adopted as State regulations upon publication by the Commissioner of 
Labor. The plan also provides for the adoption of alternative or 
different occupational safety and health standards by the Commissioner 
of Labor in consultation with the Commissioner of Health and Senior 
Services, the Commissioner of Community Affairs, and

[[Page 157]]

the Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board, where 
no Federal standards are applicable to the conditions or circumstances 
or where standards more stringent than the Federal are deemed advisable.
    (c) Variances. The plan includes provisions for the granting of 
permanent and temporary variances from State standards in terms 
substantially similar to the variance provisions contained in the OSH 
Act. The State provisions require employee notification of variance 
applications as well as employee rights to participate in hearings held 
on variance applications. Variances may not be granted unless it is 
established that adequate protection is afforded employees under the 
terms of the variance. The State has committed to amend its current 
variance procedures at N.J.A.C. 12:110-6 to bring them into conformance 
with Federal procedures at 29 CFR Part 1905 within two years after state 
plan approval.
    (d) Employee notice and discrimination protection. The plan provides 
for notification to employees of their protections and obligations under 
the plan by such means as a State poster, and required posting of 
notices of violations. The plan also provides for protection of 
employees against discharge or discrimination resulting from exercise of 
their rights under the State's Act in terms similar to section ll(c) of 
the OSH Act. However, employees have 180 days to file complaints of 
discrimination with the Commissioner of Labor; and the Commissioner is 
authorized to both investigate and order all appropriate relief. The 
monetary penalty for repeated violations (up to $70,000 per violation) 
may also be applicable to repeated employer acts of discrimination.
    (e) Inspections and enforcement. The plan provides for inspection of 
covered workplaces including inspections in response to employee 
complaints, by both the Department of Labor, and by the Department of 
Health and Senior Services with regard to health issues. If a 
determination is made that an employee complaint does not warrant an 
inspection, the complainant shall be notified, in writing, of such 
determination and afforded an opportunity to seek informal review of the 
determination. The plan also provides the opportunity for employer and 
employee representatives to accompany the inspector during an inspection 
for the purpose of aiding in the inspection. Employee(s) accompanying an 
inspector are entitled to normal wages for the time spent during the 
inspection. The plan also provides for right of entry for inspection and 
prohibition of advance notice of inspection. The Commissioner of Labor 
is responsible for all enforcement actions including the issuance of 
citations/Orders to Comply which must also specify the abatement period, 
posting requirements and the employer's and employee's right to contest 
any or all orders. Although the plan does not provide for initial (first 
instance) monetary sanctions, the Commissioner of Labor has the 
authority to impose civil administrative penalties of up to $7,000 per 
day for each violation, for failure to abate, if the time for compliance 
with an order has elapsed, and the employer has not contested and has 
not made a good faith effort to comply. Willful or repeated violations 
also are subject to civil administrative penalties of up to $70,000 for 
each violation. Penalties may be recovered with costs in a civil action 
brought under the New Jersey Penalty Enforcement Act (N.J.S.2A.:58-1 et 
seq.)
    (f) Review procedures. Under the plan, employers, employees and 
other affected parties may seek informal review with the Department of 
Labor relative to a notice of violation/Order to Comply, the 
reasonableness of the abatement period, any penalty and/or may seek 
formal administrative review with the Occupational Safety and Health 
Review Commission, a board appointed by the Governor and authorized 
under section 34:6A.42 of the New Jersey Act to hear and rule on appeals 
of orders to comply and any penalties proposed. Any employer, employee 
or employee representative affected by a determination of the 
Commissioner may file a contest within fifteen (15) working days of the 
issuance of an order to comply. The Review Commission will issue an 
order, based on a finding of fact, affirming, modifying, or vacating the 
commissioner's order to

[[Page 158]]

comply or the proposed penalty, or directing other appropriate relief, 
and the order shall become final 45 days after its issuance. Judicial 
review of the decision of the Review Commission may be sought at the 
Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
    (g) Staffing and Resources. The plan further provides assurances of 
a fully trained, adequate staff, including 20 safety and 7 health 
compliance officers for enforcement inspections, and 4 safety and 3 
health consultants to perform consultation services in the public 
sector, and 2 safety and 3 health training and education staff. The 
State has assured that it will continue to provide a sufficient number 
of adequately trained and qualified personnel necessary for the 
enforcement of standards as required by 29 CFR 1956.10. The State has 
also given satisfactory assurance of adequate funding to support the 
plan.
    (h) Records and reports. The plan provides that public employers in 
New Jersey will maintain appropriate records and make timely reports on 
occupational injuries and illnesses in a manner substantially identical 
to that required for private sector employers under Federal OSHA. New 
Jersey has assured that it will continue its participation in the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics Annual Survey of Injuries and Illnesses with regard 
to both private and public sector employers. The State will comply with 
the provisions of 29 CFR 1904.7 which allows full employee and employee 
representative access, including employee's names, to the log of 
workplace injuries and illnesses; and will amend its regulations 
accordingly. The plan also contains assurances that the Commissioner of 
Labor will provide reports to OSHA in such form as the Assistant 
Secretary may require, and that New Jersey will participate in OSHA's 
Integrated Management Information System.
    (i) Voluntary compliance programs. The plan provides that training 
will be provided to public employers and employees; seminars will be 
conducted to familiarize affected individuals with OSHA standards, 
requirements and safe work practices; an on-site consultation program in 
the public sector will be established to provide services to public 
employers who so desire; and, all State agencies and political 
subdivisions will be encouraged to develop and maintain self inspection 
programs as well as internal safety and health programs as an adjunct to 
but not a substitute for the Commissioner of Labor's enforcement.