The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has resumed normal enforcement throughout most of Florida and Georgia. The agency had ceased most programmed enforcement actions following Hurricane Irma.
In the hurricane's aftermath, OSHA provided compliance assistance and outreach to employers and workers involved in the clean-up and recovery operations. Thousands of crews and individual workers received job safety and health technical assistance. OSHA retained the right to inspect fatalities, catastrophic accidents, employee complaints, and employers who repeatedly exposed employees to serious hazards during cleanup and recovery activities.
“Although we will resume regular enforcement operations in most of the impacted areas, we will continue to assist employers and workers in those isolated areas most heavily impacted by Hurricane Irma,” said OSHA's Region IV Administrator Kurt Petermeyer, in Atlanta. “We will be monitoring those areas closely as they transition from cleanup and recovery to normal operations.”
The agency will remain in compliance assistance status in Collier, Highlands, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Sarasota counties in Florida, and continue to monitor Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and McIntosh counties in Georgia.
Employers and employees working in these areas may call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or visit the agency's website to reach Florida or Georgia representatives who can provide on-site assistance.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
