Public Health and Safety Law

New York State occupational safety and health laws require schools to provide employees with a safe environment and furnish them with information regarding the hazards and identities of the chemicals to which they are exposed while working. This hazard information must be communicated to employees through warning labels, material safety data sheets, and training programs. Occupational safety and health laws are enforced statewide by the Public Employee Safety and Health Administration (PESH), which monitors compliance and levies fines. The Office of Occupational Safety and Health (OOSH) in the Division of Human Resources at the New York City Board of Education has primary local responsibility for compliance. Other agencies with authority and oversight over aspects of safety and health include the Office of Environmental Safety, which regulates exposure to toxic substances (asbestos, lead paint), the Division of School Facilities, the Fire Department, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Health, and the Citywide Office of Occupational Safety and Health (COSH).

New York City School Obligations Under the Hazard Communication/ Right-to-Know Standard:

• Develop a written Hazard Communication Plan to be kept on file;
• Designate a site safety officer to be responsible for compliance with standards;
• Identify employees with potential occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals;
• Provide initial and annual training for employees;
• Provide training whenever a new hazard is introduced in a work area;
• Properly label containers in which hazardous chemicals are stored;
• Maintain list of hazardous chemicals in the workplace;
• Maintain Material Safety Data Sheets for hazardous chemicals used, produced or stored in the workplace;
• Demonstrate compliance with laboratory standards;
• Regulate employee exposure to blood-borne pathogens;
• Maintain a list for 40 years of the names, addresses, and social security numbers of workers who have been exposed to one of the 400 chemicals on the Subpart Z list;
• Display safety and health posters and contacts of PESH, DOE/RTK, DOL/RTK;
• Organize hepatitis B immunizations for high-risk employees;
• Maintain personal protective equipment;
• Maintain records of compliance efforts, safety training efforts, and immunizations; and
• Maintain SH forms 900, 900.1, 900.2 which record the specifics of occupational illnesses or injuries that occur in the school and result in lost workdays.

Read more about the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.

Read the applicable regulations (8 NYCRR §155).