General Safety and Health Provisions

29 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart C
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

29 C.F.R. § 1926.20 General safety and health provisions.

(a) Contractor requirements. (1) Section 107 of the Act requires that it shall be a condition of each contract which is entered into under legislation subject to Reorganization Plan Number 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267), as defined in § 1926.12, and is for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating, that no contractor or subcontractor for any part of the contract work shall require any laborer or mechanic employed in the performance of the contract to work in surroundings or under working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to his health or safety. (b) Accident prevention responsibilities. (1) It shall be the responsibility of the employer to initiate and maintain such programs as may be necessary to comply with this part. (2) Such programs shall provide for frequent and regular inspections of the job sites, materials, and equipment to be made by competent persons designated by the employers. (3) The use of any machinery, tool, material, or equipment which is not in compliance with any applicable requirement of this part is prohibited. Such machine, tool, material, or equipment shall either be identified as unsafe by tagging or locking the controls to render them inoperable or shall be physically removed from its place of operation. (4) The employer shall permit only those employees qualified by training or experience to operate equipment and machinery. (c) The standards contained in this part shall apply with respect to employments performed in a workplace in a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Wake Island, Outer Continental Shelf lands defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and Johnston Island. (d) (1) If a particular standard is specifically applicable to a condition, practice, means, method, operation, or process, it shall prevail over any different general standard which might otherwise be applicable to the same condition, practice, means, method, operation, or process. (2) On the other hand, any standard shall apply according to its terms to any employment and place of employment in any industry, even though particular standards are also prescribed for the industry to the extent that none of such particular standards applies. (e) In the event a standard protects on its face a class of persons larger than employees, the standard shall be applicable under this part only to employees and their employment and places of employment. (f) Compliance duties owed to each employee—(1) Personal protective equipment. Standards in this part requiring the employer to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), including respirators and other types of PPE, because of hazards to employees impose a separate compliance duty with respect to each employee covered by the requirement. The employer must provide PPE to each employee required to use the PPE, and each failure to provide PPE to an employee may be considered a separate violation. (2) Training. Standards in this part requiring training on hazards and related matters, such as standards requiring that employees receive training or that the employer train employees, provide training to employees, or institute or implement a training program, impose a separate compliance duty with respect to each employee covered by the requirement. The employer must train each affected employee in the manner required by the standard, and each failure to train an employee may be considered a separate violation.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.21 Safety training and education.

(a) General requirements. The Secretary shall, pursuant to section 107(f) of the Act, establish and supervise programs for the education and training of employers and employees in the recognition, avoidance and prevention of unsafe conditions in employments covered by the act. (b) Employer responsibility. (1) The employer should avail himself of the safety and health training programs the Secretary provides. (2) The employer shall instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury. (3) Employees required to handle or use poisons, caustics, and other harmful substances shall be instructed regarding the safe handling and use, and be made aware of the potential hazards, personal hygiene, and personal protective measures required. (4) In job site areas where harmful plants or animals are present, employees who may be exposed shall be instructed regarding the potential hazards, and how to avoid injury, and the first aid procedures to be used in the event of injury. (5) Employees required to handle or use flammable liquids, gases, or toxic materials shall be instructed in the safe handling and use of these materials and made aware of the specific requirements contained in subparts D, F, and other applicable subparts of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.23 First aid and medical attention.

First aid services and provisions for medical care shall be made available by the employer for every employee covered by these regulations. Regulations prescribing specific requirements for first aid, medical attention, and emergency facilities are contained in subpart D of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.24 Fire protection and prevention.

The employer shall be responsible for the development and maintenance of an effective fire protection and prevention program at the job site throughout all phases of the construction, repair, alteration, or demolition work. The employer shall ensure the availability of the fire protection and suppression equipment required by subpart F of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.25 Housekeeping.

(a) During the course of construction, alteration, or repairs, form and scrap lumber with protruding nails, and all other debris, shall be kept cleared from work areas, passageways, and stairs, in and around buildings or other structures. (b) Combustible scrap and debris shall be removed at regular intervals during the course of construction. Safe means shall be provided to facilitate such removal. (c) Containers shall be provided for the collection and separation of waste, trash, oily and used rags, and other refuse. Containers used for garbage and other oily, flammable, or hazardous wastes, such as caustics, acids, harmful dusts, etc. shall be equipped with covers. Garbage and other waste shall be disposed of at frequent and regular intervals.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.26 Illumination.

Construction areas, aisles, stairs, ramps, runways, corridors, offices, shops, and storage areas where work is in progress shall be lighted with either natural or artificial illumination. The minimum illumination requirements for work areas are contained in subpart D of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.27 Sanitation.

Health and sanitation requirements for drinking water are contained in subpart D of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.28 Personal protective equipment.

(a) The employer is responsible for requiring the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment in all operations where there is an exposure to hazardous conditions or where this part indicates the need for using such equipment to reduce the hazards to the employees. (b) Regulations governing the use, selection, and maintenance of personal protective and lifesaving equipment are described under subpart E of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.29 Acceptable certifications.

(a) Pressure vessels. Current and valid certification by an insurance company or regulatory authority shall be deemed as acceptable evidence of safe installation, inspection, and testing of pressure vessels provided by the employer. (b) Boilers. Boilers provided by the employer shall be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this part when evidence of current and valid certification by an insurance company or regulatory authority attesting to the safe installation, inspection, and testing is presented. (c) Other requirements. Regulations prescribing specific requirements for other types of pressure vessels and similar equipment are contained in subparts F and O of this part.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.30 Shipbuilding and ship repairing.

(a) General. Shipbuilding, ship repairing, alterations, and maintenance performed on ships under Government contract, except naval ship construction, is work subject to the Act. (b) Applicable safety and health standards. For the purpose of work carried out under this section, the safety and health regulations in part 1915 of this title, Shipyard Employment, shall apply.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.32 Definitions.

The following definitions shall apply in the application of the regulations in this part: (a) Act means section 107 of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, commonly known as the Construction Safety Act (86 Stat. 96; 40 U.S.C. 333). (b) ANSI means American National Standards Institute. (c) Approved means sanctioned, endorsed, accredited, certified, or accepted as satisfactory by a duly constituted and nationally recognized authority or agency. (d) Authorized person means a person approved or assigned by the employer to perform a specific type of duty or duties or to be at a specific location or locations at the jobsite. (e) Administration means the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (f) Competent person means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. (g) Construction work. For purposes of this section, Construction work means work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating. (h) Defect means any characteristic or condition which tends to weaken or reduce the strength of the tool, object, or structure of which it is a part. (i) Designated person means “authorized person” as defined in paragraph (d) of this section. (j) Employee means every laborer or mechanic under the Act regardless of the contractual relationship which may be alleged to exist between the laborer and mechanic and the contractor or subcontractor who engaged him. “Laborer and mechanic” are not defined in the Act, but the identical terms are used in the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276a), which provides for minimum wage protection on Federal and federally assisted construction contracts. The use of the same term in a statute which often applies concurrently with section 107 of the Act has considerable precedential value in ascertaining the meaning of “laborer and mechanic” as used in the Act. Laborer generally means one who performs manual labor or who labors at an occupation requiring physical strength; mechanic generally means a worker skilled with tools. See 18 Comp. Gen. 341. (k) Employer means contractor or subcontractor within the meaning of the Act and of this part. (l) Hazardous substance means a substance which, by reason of being explosive, flammable, poisonous, corrosive, oxidizing, irritating, or otherwise harmful, is likely to cause death or injury. (m) Qualified means one who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience, has successfully demonstrated his ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project. (n) Safety factor means the ratio of the ultimate breaking strength of a member or piece of material or equipment to the actual working stress or safe load when in use. (o) Secretary means the Secretary of Labor. (p) SAE means Society of Automotive Engineers. (q) Shall means mandatory. (r) Should means recommended. (s) Suitable means that which fits, and has the qualities or qualifications to meet a given purpose, occasion, condition, function, or circumstance.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.34 Means of egress.

(a) General. In every building or structure exits shall be so arranged and maintained as to provide free and unobstructed egress from all parts of the building or structure at all times when it is occupied. No lock or fastening to prevent free escape from the inside of any building shall be installed except in mental, penal, or corrective institutions where supervisory personnel is continually on duty and effective provisions are made to remove occupants in case of fire or other emergency. (b) Exit marking. Exits shall be marked by a readily visible sign. Access to exits shall be marked by readily visible signs in all cases where the exit or way to reach it is not immediately visible to the occupants. (c) Maintenance and workmanship. Means of egress shall be continually maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency.

29 C.F.R. § 1926.35 Employee emergency action plans.

(a) Scope and application. This section applies to all emergency action plans required by a particular OSHA standard. The emergency action plan shall be in writing (except as provided in the last sentence of paragraph (e)(3) of this section) and shall cover those designated actions employers and employees must take to ensure employee safety from fire and other emergencies. (b) Elements. The following elements, at a minimum, shall be included in the plan: (1) Emergency escape procedures and emergency escape route assignments; (2) Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate; (3) Procedures to account for all employees after emergency evacuation has been completed; (4) Rescue and medical duties for those employees who are to perform them; (5) The preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies; and (6) Names or regular job titles of persons or departments who can be contacted for further information or explanation of duties under the plan. (c) Alarm system. (1) The employer shall establish an employee alarm system which complies with § 1926.159. (2) If the employee alarm system is used for alerting fire brigade members, or for other purposes, a distinctive signal for each purpose shall be used. (d) Evacuation. The employer shall establish in the emergency action plan the types of evacuation to be used in emergency circumstances. (e) Training. (1) Before implementing the emergency action plan, the employer shall designate and train a sufficient number of persons to assist in the safe and orderly emergency evacuation of employees. (2) The employer shall review the plan with each employee covered by the plan at the following times: (i) Initially when the plan is developed, (ii) Whenever the employee's responsibilities or designated actions under the plan change, and (iii) Whenever the plan is changed. (3) The employer shall review with each employee upon initial assignment those parts of the plan which the employee must know to protect the employee in the event of an emergency. The written plan shall be kept at the workplace and made available for employee review. For those employers with 10 or fewer employees the plan may be communicated orally to employees and the employer need not maintain a written plan.

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