OSHA and the nonprofit workplace? (employees, apply, non-profit, employers)

[haggardhouseelf]

I am curious if OSHA workplace safety standards apply to nonprofit organizations?

[RDH35]

I'm interested to hear if anyone has input into this since this is literally what I'm working on today. I'm assuming that yes, it does.

[RoadWarrior12]

Short answer: Yes

Long Answer:

OSHA reg 1974.4(b)(4):

Nonprofit and charitable organizations. The basic purpose of the Williams-Steiger Act is to improve working environments in the sense that they impair, or could impair, the lives and health of employees. Therefore, certain economic tests such as whether the employer's business is operated for the purpose of making a profit or has other economic ends, may not properly be used as tests for coverage of an employer's activity under the Williams-Steiger Act. To permit such economic tests to serve as criteria for excluding certain employers, such as nonprofit and charitable organizations which employ one or more employees, would result in thousands of employees being left outside the protections of the Williams-Steiger Act in disregard of the clear mandate of Congress to assure "every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions . . .". Therefore, any charitable or non-profit organization which employs one or more employees is covered under the Williams-Steiger Act and is required to comply with its provisions and the regulations issued thereunder. (Some examples of covered charitable or non-profit organizations would be disaster relief organizations, philanthropic organizations, trade associations, private educational institutions, labor organizations, and private hospitals.)