Introduction to OSHA
Domain 1: Introduction to OSHA
This domain tests the legal framework behind a maritime safety inspection: the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employer duties, worker rights, the maritime standards that apply, and how OSHA reports and cites. Expect questions that distinguish a specific standard from the General Duty Clause and that test reporting clocks.
Core rules
- The OSH Act's General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1), requires an employer to furnish a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. It is used when no specific standard covers the hazard; it does not replace a specific rule.
- Section 5(a)(2) requires compliance with specific standards. Maritime work is covered by 29 CFR 1915 (shipyard employment), 1917 (marine terminals), and 1918 (longshoring). Part 1910 general-industry rules apply only where maritime parts do not address the condition.
- Worker rights include raising a complaint, participating in an inspection, seeing citations, accessing injury and exposure records, receiving PPE at no cost, and refusing imminently dangerous work when there is no time to eliminate the hazard.
- Employers must post OSHA poster 3165, keep the OSHA 300 log, and report a fatality within 8 hours; an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours.
Worked example
A terminal employer learns a forklift has a failed brake but tells the operator to finish the shift because "OSHA won't be here today." The hazard is recognized and likely to cause serious harm; a specific standard on powered industrial trucks also applies. The operator may refuse the unsafe task, and OSHA could cite the employer under the specific standard, with the General Duty Clause as a fallback if no specific rule fits. The citation is not avoided by the absence of an inspection.
Traps
- Mixing the 8-hour fatality report with the 24-hour hospitalization/amputation report.
- Assuming the General Duty Clause is the first choice; specific standards come first.
- Treating the OSHA 10 card as a certification or license.
- Forgetting that shipyard, terminal, and longshoring rules are separate parts.