The study will collect data on state and federal regulations concerned with protecting workers from specific chemical, physical, biological, mechanical, or psychosocial hazards and will be compiled from publicly available federal and state regulatory sources.
Under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, states are permitted to establish federally approved plans as substitutes for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). States must adopt each of the federal safety and health standards unless they develop an alternative standard that is at least as protective of workers. Half the states and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have state OSHA plans. The study will map all unique state occupational safety and health standards, and corresponding federal regulations, where applicable.