New Jersey certified as State Plan state for public employees

Washington – Federal OSHA on Jan. 22 approved and certified the New Jersey Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health program as a State Plan.

PEOSH received initial approval as a public employee-only State Plan state in early 2001. Between 2013 and 2014, the state submitted several documents demonstrating the program’s developmental steps taken to become an “effective” State Plan state.

State Plans that receive initial approval are able to operate and enforce their own safety and health standards. Certification means the State Plan state has the necessary authority and procedures to be “at least as effective” as federal OSHA in terms of standards and enforcement, but certification does not render judgment as to the effectiveness of the program’s operations.

Under public employee-only State Plans, the state program enforces occupational safety and health regulations among state and local public employers while federal OSHA maintains oversight of private industry. Five states and one U.S. territory currently operate public employee-only State Plans, while 21 states and one territory operate programs overseeing both private- and public-sector workers.