OSHA 501 cheat sheet

Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry

• OSH Act Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause, requires employers to furnish a workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm; it applies only when no specific standard covers the hazard.

• Under 29 CFR 1910.1020, employee exposure and medical records must be kept for 30 years after employment ends, and employees must be given access within 15 working days of a request.

• OSHA recordkeeping (29 CFR 1904) requires recording a fatality within 8 hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours; the annual summary (Form 300A) must be posted February 1 through April 30.

• Inspection priorities in order: imminent danger, fatality/catastrophe, employee complaints/referrals, programmed planned inspections, and follow-ups; a warrant is required only if the employer refuses consent.

• Citation penalties are classified as other-than-serious, serious, willful, repeated, and failure-to-abate; willful and repeated violations carry the highest per-violation maximums, and abatement periods may be contested before the OSHRC.

• The 1910.95 noise standard sets the 8-hour permissible exposure limit at 90 dBA; a hearing conservation program (monitoring, audiometric testing, hearing protection, training) is triggered at an 85 dBA TWA action level.

• Permit-required confined spaces (1910.146) require pre-entry evaluation, an entry permit, atmospheric testing before and during entry, an attendant outside the space, and rescue provisions; oxygen must be 19.5-23.5 percent by volume.

• Hazard communication (1910.1200) requires a written program, container labeling, safety data sheets in a 16-section format, and training; the 2012 revision aligned the standard with the GHS.

• The walking-working surfaces standard (1910.30) requires fall protection at 4 feet in general industry and training for employees exposed to fall hazards, including ladder and dockboard use.