Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 13, September 23, 2024
Subpart
1.
Scope and application.
This part applies to employers who receive a citation for a
violation of the act and establishes procedures to ensure that employers who
have been cited for workplace hazards have abated those hazards.
Subp. 2.
Abatement
certification.
The employer must certify to the commissioner that each cited
violation not immediately corrected has been abated. Abatement certification
shall be submitted within 30 days after receipt of the citation or by the
latest abatement date, whichever is earlier. For violations with abatement
periods longer than 30 days, the employer must submit additional progress
reports every 30 days until all cited violations have been abated, unless
otherwise specified in the citation.
A. Abatement certification shall be submitted
on the progress report form provided by the commissioner, or a similar
alternative format. A fully completed progress report must include the
following information:
(1) the employer's
name and address;
(2) the
inspection number for the citation and notification of penalty or the
reinspection number for the notification of failure to abate;
(3) identification of each citation and item
for which abatement certification is being submitted;
(4) a description of the corrective actions
taken;
(5) the abatement date noted
on the citation for each item;
(6)
the date on which abatement occurred;
(7) the anticipated abatement date for
uncompleted items;
(8) a statement
that affected employees and their representatives have been informed of the
abatement;
(9) a statement that the
information is accurate;
(10) the
signature, title, and telephone number of the employer or the employer's
authorized representative;
(11) the
date on which the progress report form was prepared; and
(12) a statement that employees and their
representatives have been informed of their right to examine and copy all
abatement documents submitted to the commissioner.
B. If the anticipated completion date is
beyond the abatement date established in the citation, the employer must submit
a written Petition for Modification of Abatement Date as required by part
5210.0542 to request an extension
of the time allowed for abatement.
C. Progress reports and other abatement
documentation shall be submitted according to part
5210.0007.
D. The employer is not required to certify
abatement if the investigator, during the on-site portion of the investigation,
observes, within 24 hours after a violation is identified, that abatement has
occurred and notes in the citation that abatement has occurred.
Subp. 3.
Abatement
documentation.
In addition to the information required in subpart
2, the employer must submit
documents demonstrating that abatement is complete for any violation for which
the citation indicates that such abatement documentation is required. Documents
demonstrating that abatement is complete include, but are not limited to,
evidence of the purchase or repair of equipment, photographic or video evidence
of abatement, or other written records.
Subp. 4.
Employee notification.
The employer must inform affected employees and their
representatives about abatement activities covered by this part by posting a
copy of each progress report submitted to the commissioner where the citation
and notification of penalty or notification of failure to abate is required to
be posted by part
5210.0530, subpart
3.
The employer must ensure that notice to employees and
employee representatives is provided at the same time, or before, the
information is provided to the commissioner and that abatement documents are
not altered, defaced, or covered by other material and remain posted for 15
days after submission to the commissioner.
Subp. 5.
Movable equipment.
For serious, repeat, and willful violations involving
equipment moved within the work site or between work sites, the employer must
attach a warning tag or a copy of the citation to the operating controls or to
the cited component of the equipment. Attaching a copy of the citation to the
equipment meets the tagging requirements of this subpart and the posting
requirements of subpart
4.
A. The employer must use a warning tag that
identifies the equipment cited, properly warns employees about the nature of
the violation involving the equipment, and identifies the location where a copy
of the citation is posted.
B. If
the violation has not already been abated, a warning tag or copy of the
citation must be attached to the equipment:
(1) for hand-held equipment, immediately
after the employer receives the citation; and
(2) for non-hand-held equipment, prior to
moving the equipment within or between work sites.
C. For the construction industry, a tag that
is designed and used according to Code of Federal Regulations, title 29,
sections 1926.20(b)(3) and 1926.200(h), meets the requirements of this subpart
when the information required by item A is included on the tag.
D. The employer must ensure that the tag or
copy of the citation attached to the movable equipment is not altered, defaced,
or covered by other material.
E.
The employer must ensure that the tag or copy of the citation attached to
movable equipment remains attached until:
(1)
the violation has been abated and all abatement verification documents required
by this part have been submitted to the commissioner;
(2) the cited equipment has been permanently
removed from service or is no longer within the employer's control;
or
(3) a final order is issued
vacating the citation.
Statutory Authority: MS s
182.657
