The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) is aimed at reducing workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths. The OSH Act grants the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an agency of the federal government, the authority to create rules, standards and regulations governing workplace safety and health. The OSH Act authorizes states to develop and administer (with OSHA’s approval) their own state plans setting forth their own job safety and health standards that are at least as effective as the federal standards. In 1988, OSHA approved the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) program. The VOSH Program applies to all public and private employers in the state, but does not apply to federal employees, the U.S. Postal Service and other certain other employers coming under federal jurisdiction. The OSH Act (and OSHA’s standard and regulations) applies to the employers in Virginia not otherwise covered by the VOSH program.
Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) administers and enforces the VOSH program. The Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board (Board) distributes the standards that DOLI enforces. As described in more detail within, the VOSH program contains not only the federal OSH Act standards but also a number of unique standards beyond those set forth by the...
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