by Brad Hiles and Ben McMillen
It can be challenging enough to comply with all of the regulations that apply to your business. What if you don’t even know which safety agency’s rules apply? Which enforcement agents will show up at your door? In some industries, the line between MSHA and OSHA jurisdiction can be complicated and blurry.
Where does your facility fall on the OSHA-MSHA divide? The Department of Labor, which houses both agencies, long ago tried to clarify the split between operations that fall under one regime or the other. But, the agencies and courts have sometimes gone in both directions, making the jurisdictional line downright blurry in some instances.
In an article via Rock Products, we write about The Blurred Line, explaining where the dividing line is between these agencies and what factors come into play. Think you know where you stand? A number of types of facilities have actually been assigned to different agencies by different court decisions. For example, machine shops on non-mine property that repair mine equipment have been tagged with either MSHA or OSHA jurisdiction depending on the case and court. Likewise, power plants that break, crush, size, and store coal before generation have gone both ways.
Read the full article to understand the analysis that courts apply and to be sure you know where your facility falls on the OSHA-MSHA divide.