OSHA Program Reform

Resolved that the National Association of Home Builders pursue all options to compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to:

1. Ensure that occupational safety and health regulations are based on, and take into account, the distinct differences between residential construction and heavy commercial construction;
2. Use a risk based approach to evaluate sound science, information, engineering principles, data and analysis to ensure there is a compelling rationale for each regulation; demonstrate that each regulation will improve the safety and health protection of workers; and adopt and promulgate regulations that are technologically attainable, flexible, practical, feasible and cost-effective, and minimize paperwork;
3. Clarify responsibilities on multi-employer worksites so that an employer may not be cited for a violation by OSHA if the employer:
   1. Has not created the condition that caused the violation;
   2. Has no employees exposed to the violation; or
   3. Has not assumed responsibility for ensuring compliance by other employers on the work site;
4. Review its existing occupational safety and health regulations and guidance to reduce unnecessary burdens, promote economic growth and job creation, and minimize the impacts of government actions on small businesses;
5. Reestablish its focus and efforts on compliance assistance and revise its inspection, enforcement, and penalty policies and practices to ensure they are applied fairly and consistently by:
   1. Making fine notification less intimidating and more practical by adopting a system that allows warnings in lieu of citations;
   2. Providing penalty relief for small businesses that make good faith efforts to comply;
   3. Employing and allowing only those compliance officers who have direct experience in residential construction and are familiar with the industry to perform residential site inspections; and
   4. Reducing the amount of time that OSHA has to issue citations for violations at residential construction sites from six months to a more reasonable amount of time, with a goal of not more than 15 days from the date of the site inspection.
6. Inform and educate all employers affected by OSHA standards or regulations of their responsibilities and help them operate safe job sites, improve compliance and reduce occupational injuries and illnesses; all training shall emphasize employee’s responsibilities and duties to abide by all standards set by OSHA; in addition to individual company policies.

Committee with primary jurisdiction:

• Construction Safety and Health Committee