OSHA resumes regular enforcement along most of Gulf Coast

After Hurricane Katrina struck, OSHA suspended its regular enforcement procedures to provide emergency assistance to the Gulf Coast region, but with conditions improving in much of the area it has resumed enforcement throughout Florida and Alabama and in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana. The suspension continues in the New Orleans area and parts of Mississippi.

“It’s standard OSHA practice in emergency response situations to provide technical assistance to responders who are involved with rescue and recovery efforts,” said Al Belsky, an OSHA spokesman. “We provide technical assistance instead of the enforcement mode.” In the aftermath of Katrina, OSHA did 11,000 interventions with work crews, with an emphasis on helping electrical workers avoid downed power lines, Belsky said. “We also did areas where they were dumping debris to help workers avoid harmful spills.”

OSHA will continue to provide this kind of assistance in New Orleans and Mississippi south of Interstate 10, but will resume its traditional enforcement policy in the rest of the region, in response to employee complaints, major injuries or fatalities.