General duty clause:

• Employers "shall furnish …a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards….".
• Employers are responsible to establish or update operating procedures and communicate them so that employees follow safety and health requirements.
• Employers are responsible for keeping employees informed about …the various safety and health related matters with which they are involved.
• (Reduce employer liability by communicating with) "employees (who) have a responsibility to…follow all employer safety and health rules and regulations, wear or use prescribed protective equipment while engaged in work."
• Facilitate communications with employees whom have rights to request information… on safety and health hazards,…on precautions… (employee rights).
• (Facilitate satisfaction of) employee’s "right to receive adequate training and information on workplace safety and health hazards" (employee rights).
• A penalty … may be adjusted downward by as much as 95% depending on the employer’s good faith …(demonstrated efforts to comply with (OSH) Act).

Hazard Communication Standard

• Employers must establish a written, comprehensive hazard communication program that includes provisions for…material safety data sheets, and employee training program.

OSHA’s Amended Respirator Standard

• Employer is responsible to have a written respirator program…to include: …An analysis of respiratory hazards to assist with respirator selection; …Employee training on proper respirator use and respiratory hazards; …periodic program evaluation.
• "Written respiratory protection program" that must include "work site-specific procedures" …and the employee training program.

Inspection Guidelines for 29 CFR 1910. Subpart I, the revised Personal Protective Equipment Standards for General Industry

• Employers are required to select appropriate PPE based on the hazards present or likely to be present in the workplace; …employers are required to train employees so that each affected employee can properly use the assigned PPE (OSHA inspections at the workplace …shall verify that the employer has conducted a workplace hazard assessment, and has a written certification that identifies the workplace evaluated, the person certifying that the evaluation has been performed, and the dates of the hazard assessment PPE.
• OSHA inspections at the workplace) …shall verify that the employer has selected and is having each affected employee use the types of PPE that will protect the affected employee from identified hazards, has communicated selection decisions to each affected employee.
• OSHA inspections at the workplace …shall determine if employees are trained to know at least the following: a) when PPE is necessary; b) what PPE is necessary….
• The employer may use any convenient format (for required training certification) that contains the required information. It may be a single certification for all of its employees, for an identified group of its employees (based on a common task, type of exposure, or other appropriate characteristic), or for one or more named employees, provided that the document contains the required information.

WHAM provides the fundamentals for OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP)

• Helps employer incorporate comprehensive safety and health programs into their total management system.
  
  
• Star program status is achieved via

• Management commitment and employee participation;

• A high quality worksite analysis program;

• Hazard prevention and control programs;
  
  
• And, comprehensive safety and health training for all employees.