OSHA STANDARDS:

MEDICAL SCREENING & SURVEILLANCE

Medical screening is a method for detecting disease or body dysfunction before an individual would normally seek medical care.  Screening tests are usually administered to individuals without current symptoms, but who may be at high risk for certain adverse health outcomes.

Medical surveillance is the analysis of health information to look for problems that may be occurring in the workplace that require targeted prevention.  Thus, surveillance serves as a feedback loop to the employer.  Surveillance may be based on a single case or sentinel event, but more typically uses screening results from the group of employees being evaluated to look for abnormal trends in health status.  Surveillance can also be conducted on a single employee over time.  Review of group results helps to identify potential problem areas and the effectiveness of existing worksite preventive strategies. The following resources contain medical surveillance information including specific hazards and surveillance guidelines.

OSHA

The following references provide information about medical screening and clinical evaluation:

WHAT IS OSHA?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor.  The OSHA Act covers most private sector employers and their workers, in addition to some public sector employers and workers in the 50 states and certain territories and jurisdictions under federal authority.

OSHA: PRIVATE SECTOR FEDERAL & STATE PLANS

OSHA covers most private sector employers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions—either directly through federal OSHA or through an OSHA approved state plan.

  • State plans are OSHA-approved job safety and health programs operated by individual states instead of federal OSHA.  State-run safety and health programs are required to be at least as effective as the federal OSHA program.
  • Federal OSHA approves and monitors all state plans and provides as much as fifty percent of the funding for each program.  Federal OSHA provides coverage to certain workplaces specifically excluded from a state’s plan — for example, work in maritime industries or on military bases.

OSHA: STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Workers at state and local government agencies are not covered by federal OSHA, but have OSH Act protections if they work in those states that have an OSHA-approved state program.  OSHA rules also permit states and territories to develop plans that cover only public sector (state and local government) workers.  In these cases, private sector workers and employers remain under federal OSHA jurisdiction. 

*Five additional states and one U.S. territory have OSHA approved state plans that cover public sector workers only:  Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and the Virgin Islands.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

OSHA’s protection applies to all federal agencies. Section 19 of the OSH Act makes federal agency heads responsible for providing safe and healthful working conditions for their workers. OSHA conducts inspections of federal facilities in response to workers’ reports of hazards and under programs that target high hazard federal workplaces. Federal agencies must have a safety and health program that meets the same standards as private employers. OSHA issues “virtual fines” to federal agencies – following an inspection where violations are found.

Not covered under the OSHA Act

The self-employed; immediate family members of farm employers; and workplace hazards regulated by another federal agency.