OSHA resumes practice of answering highly specific questions

OSHA has resumed its practice of answering very specific questions about how its regulations should be interpreted.

The answers, known as letters of interpretation, appear on the agency’s web site and most of the posted answers deal with construction safety issues. Because they are narrow questions posed by individual employers, they may not have a broader application, but do give insight into the agency’s thinking.

For example, a letter from Richard E. Fairfax, director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, tells a Milwaukee employer that it must provide static dissipative safety toe footwear at no cost to employees working with flammable liquids and products because the footwear provides additional protection and is designed for special use on the job.