March 3, 2003—Facing budget pressures, Minnesota is considering shifting regulation of its state workplace safety programs to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The proposal would save the state about $1.2 million over two years.
The shift would relax several state standards that are tougher than OSHA’s standards. For instance, Minnesota’s state worker safety enforcement agency enforces worker exposure limits for more than four hundred toxic substances that the federal government does not regulate. It also applies stricter rules for the construction industry.
The proposal would retain a few state inspectors to police public employee job sites, as well as continue the state OSHA Consultation Program. Based on a report from Industrial Safety & Hygiene News.
