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U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Programs

Agency: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standard Regulation to reduce or eliminate the possibility of an employee contracting any of a series of diseases that are spread through blood or other potentially infectious materials. In general, the standard contains requirements for development of an exposure control plan, precautions for protecting employees, vaccination, training, record keeping, and handling an exposure incident. It is contained in Part 1910.1030 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations and became fully effective on October 1, 1992. In 2001, in response to the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, OSHA revised the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard to require that employers consider and implement safer medical devices (e.g., self sheathing needles) and to involve employees in identifying and choosing these devices. The updated standard also requires employers to maintain a log of injuries from contaminated sharps.

The Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires covered employers to do the following:

  1. Write an exposure control plan to determine how exposure to body fluids will be handled. Every job-related task in the school must be evaluated in light of the likelihood of exposure to blood, blood products, and other potentially infectious materials.
  2. Implement the use of universal precautions (e.g., hand washing and use of gloves).
  3. Identify and use engineering controls (e.g., self-sheathing needles).
  4. Write policies that address appropriate work practices that reduce the possibility of exposure.
  5. Provide personal protective equipment, such as gloves or masks.
  6. Offer free HBV vaccination to all employees who are reasonably to come into contact with blood and other potentially infectious materials as a direct result of their responsibilities (e.g., school nurses and physical education instructors).
  7. Make available post-exposure evaluation and follow-up on all occupationally exposed employees who experiences an exposure incident.
  8. Use labels and signs to communicate hazards.
  9. Provide information and training for these employees on bloodborne pathogens, hepatitis B vaccination, medical evaluation, and post exposure follow-up.
  10. Maintain employee medical training records to document compliance with these regulations. Records of employees who have received vaccinations and written refusals of employees to receive vaccinations must be part of the documentation.

Further Information

Agency: U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization

Workplace Poster Requirements for Private Schools

Private schools are employers. As such they are required to post certain Federal and State workplace notices. Federal posters and more information about poster requirements or other compliance assistance matters are available at the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Call toll-free 1-866-4-USA-DOL, or 1-866-487-2365, or visit the DOL poster page.

Additional information about posting requirements, including a chart containing information about who must post certain information, is available on the DOL website. The chart provides links to each section's page where further information is located and for particular posting requirements. The posters can be printed directly from that section's page; there is no need to order them from another source. Directions for printing and size requirements are contained in the information posted on each section's page. The first page (the link above), contains contact phone numbers for further information. The Poster Advisor is designed to help employers comply with the poster requirements of several laws administered by the DOL.

A private school should also contact the relevant State agency to determine what additional notices the State requires employers to post. If the State has requirements that are tougher than federal requirements, for example on minimum wage or occupational safety standards, private schools are required to observe them.

The federal posters that private schools are most likely to be required to post include the following:

  • Job Safety and Health Protection (occupational safety and health)
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Is The Law
  • Your Rights Under The Family and Medical Leave Act
  • Federal Minimum Wage
  • Notice: Employee Polygraph Protection Act

Some employers may also be required to post:

  • Notice to Workers with Disabilities Paid at Special Minimum Wages
  • Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act


   
Last Modified: 09/05/2019