State and Local Health and Safety Laws

Many states and municipalities have laws that mandate a certain level of safety in the workplace. These laws vary greatly in what they require, how they are enforced, and even which employers they cover.

Early on, California began enforcing the most powerful of these laws: It requires every employer in the state to have a written plan to prevent workplace injuries. A number of states have followed the lead, putting teeth and nails into the laws that protect workplace safety. For example, Texas maintains a 24-hour hotline for telephone reports of violations—and prohibits employers from discriminating against workers who drop a dime to use it.

1. State OSHA Laws

Most states now have their own OSHA laws—most with protections for workers that are similar to those provided in the federal law. For example, employers in some low-hazard industries, such as retailers and insurance companies with fewer than ten employees, are exempt from some posting and reporting requirements. Most state laws cover all small employers, regardless of the type of business.

A number of states that do not now have OSHA laws in place are presently considering passing them—and many of the states that already have such laws are considering wholesale amendments changing their coverage and content. Check your state’s particulars with a local OSHA office—or call the state department of labor to check whether your state has enacted an OSHA law recently.

A number of state laws specifically forbid employers from firing employees who assert their rights under workplace health and safety rules. Some states, like OSHA, give workers the right to refuse to work under certain conditions, although the workers may need to report the condition first. And some states protect workers from retaliation not only for exercising their rights under OSHA, but also for using state “right to know” laws—statutes that require employers to give workers information about hazardous substances on the job.

Still another group of state laws extends beyond the workplace to protect employees who report violations of laws and rules that create specific dangers to public health and safety. These laws, commonly referred to as whistleblower statutes, generally protect good eggs—individuals who are attempting to uphold a public policy of the state. For example, typical whistleblower statutes prohibit employees from being fired for reporting toxic dumping or fraudulent use of government funds.

The Knock That Never Comes

If you happen upon an OSHA official who is feeling chatty and loose-tongued, you may hear what we all suspected: There simply are not enough inspectors to go around inspecting. Perhaps the jobs are hard to fill—OSHA inspectors nestle among IRS auditors on most employers’ lists of unwelcome visitors.

Restricted budgets may be a problem, too—the agency has been forced to set staff levels low and keep them there.

All this makes for lax enforcement. For example, there are only about 250 inspectors on the California OSHA staff available to monitor businesses and dole out citations for failing to comply with the state’s comprehensive law requiring health and safety plans for every employer in the state.

And California is a big state. Chamber of Commerce officials there recently estimated that if all the inspectors started at the state’s Oregon border and worked their way south through every business, it would take at least 300 years to reach Mexico.

2. Sanitation Laws

Many state and local health and building codes offer guidance in how to keep your workplace safe. While not intended specifically to ensure workplace safety, these laws often include programs designed to ensure good sanitation and public safety in general.

For example, the health department of the city in which you work probably has the power to order an employer to improve restroom facilities that are leaking and causing unsanitary workplace conditions. And your local building inspector typically can order an employer to straighten out faulty electrical wiring that presents a shock or fire hazard to people working near that wiring.

When the Boss Doubles as a Bathroom Monitor

It wasn’t big news to many when government health authorities recently slapped a $332,500 fine on Hudson Foods, a poultry processing plant in the town of Noel, Missouri. The plant had been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 23 times in 24 years—a healthy number for an agency notoriously backlogged and selective in carrying out its charge of ferreting out workplace health and safety violations.

A number of news sources dutifully recounted the parade of transgressions OSHA inspectors had noted: blocked and restricted fire exits, failure to provide training in and enforce use of eye protective equipment, failure to provide training and issue procedures for handling hazardous chemicals, failure to securely anchor machines.

Less widely reported was one innocuous sounding violation: Insufficient Toilet Facilities. The charge drew at least a few glib jibes: “Let My People Go,” trumpeted one legal journal in a headline thumbnailing the inspection.

But few could fathom the human humiliation behind it all. Hudson workers claim they were required to ask permission before being allowed bathroom breaks—and that permission was denied as often as granted. Some say they were forced to urinate in their clothes or wear diapers to absorb the inevitable. Thom Hanson, chief regulatory compliance officer at Hudson, defended the company’s position: The workers simply “need to ask supervisors to release them,” he explained. “Normally, a relief person comes by and takes their place.”

But relief was not always in sight, according to one woman who worked five years as a packer at Hudson. “It matters how good you get along with your supervisor. Sometimes they’ll say no,” she said. “And it’s pretty hard to leave the line when you’ve got thousands of chickens coming at you.”

OSHA regulations have long required that employers provide toilets in the workplace: at least six for the first 150 workers, and one more for each additional 40 workers. But in a twist of semantics defying logic, the regulations mandate only the presence of toilets on the scene—not employees’ rights to use them. In considering the Hudson complaints, OSHA officials found for the first time that the company in effect denied workers toilet facilities when it denied them the right to use them.

In the wake of the Hudson case and the ensuing public outcry, OSHA officials dictated at last that employers must give workers prompt and reasonable access to toilet facilities, even though the regulations do not specifically require it.

An official Standards and Compliance Letter issued by OSHA noted: “Toilets that employees are not allowed to use for extended periods cannot be said to be ‘available’ to those employees.”

In other words, employers can no longer hide behind the lacking letter of the law. Employers who do not allow employees reasonable access to workplace toilets may now be cited and sanctioned by OSHA inspectors.

You can find state and local health and building codes at your city hall or county courthouse.

State and Local Health and Safety Laws

Many states and municipalities have laws that mandate a certain level of safety in the workplace. These laws vary greatly in what they require, how they are enforced, and even which employers they cover.

Early on, California began enforcing the most powerful of these laws: It requires every employer in the state to have a written plan to prevent workplace injuries. A number of states have followed the lead, putting teeth and nails into the laws that protect workplace safety. For example, Texas maintains a 24-hour hotline for telephone reports of violations—and prohibits employers from discriminating against workers who drop a dime to use it.

1. State OSHA Laws

Most states now have their own OSHA laws—most with protections for workers that are similar to those provided in the federal law. For example, employers in some low-hazard industries, such as retailers and insurance companies with fewer than ten employees, are exempt from some posting and reporting requirements. Most state laws cover all small employers, regardless of the type of business.

A number of states that do not now have OSHA laws in place are presently considering passing them—and many of the states that already have such laws are considering wholesale amendments changing their coverage and content. Check your state’s particulars with a local OSHA office—or call the state department of labor to check whether your state has enacted an OSHA law recently.

A number of state laws specifically forbid employers from firing employees who assert their rights under workplace health and safety rules. Some states, like OSHA, give workers the right to refuse to work under certain conditions, although the workers may need to report the condition first. And some states protect workers from retaliation not only for exercising their rights under OSHA, but also for using state “right to know” laws—statutes that require employers to give workers information about hazardous substances on the job.

Still another group of state laws extends beyond the workplace to protect employees who report violations of laws and rules that create specific dangers to public health and safety. These laws, commonly referred to as whistleblower statutes, generally protect good eggs—individuals who are attempting to uphold a public policy of the state. For example, typical whistleblower statutes prohibit employees from being fired for reporting toxic dumping or fraudulent use of government funds.

The Knock That Never Comes

If you happen upon an OSHA official who is feeling chatty and loose-tongued, you may hear what we all suspected: There simply are not enough inspectors to go around inspecting. Perhaps the jobs are hard to fill—OSHA inspectors nestle among IRS auditors on most employers’ lists of unwelcome visitors.

Restricted budgets may be a problem, too—the agency has been forced to set staff levels low and keep them there.

All this makes for lax enforcement. For example, there are only about 250 inspectors on the California OSHA staff available to monitor businesses and dole out citations for failing to comply with the state’s comprehensive law requiring health and safety plans for every employer in the state.

And California is a big state. Chamber of Commerce officials there recently estimated that if all the inspectors started at the state’s Oregon border and worked their way south through every business, it would take at least 300 years to reach Mexico.

2. Sanitation Laws

Many state and local health and building codes offer guidance in how to keep your workplace safe. While not intended specifically to ensure workplace safety, these laws often include programs designed to ensure good sanitation and public safety in general.

For example, the health department of the city in which you work probably has the power to order an employer to improve restroom facilities that are leaking and causing unsanitary workplace conditions. And your local building inspector typically can order an employer to straighten out faulty electrical wiring that presents a shock or fire hazard to people working near that wiring.

When the Boss Doubles as a Bathroom Monitor

It wasn’t big news to many when government health authorities recently slapped a $332,500 fine on Hudson Foods, a poultry processing plant in the town of Noel, Missouri. The plant had been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 23 times in 24 years—a healthy number for an agency notoriously backlogged and selective in carrying out its charge of ferreting out workplace health and safety violations.

A number of news sources dutifully recounted the parade of transgressions OSHA inspectors had noted: blocked and restricted fire exits, failure to provide training in and enforce use of eye protective equipment, failure to provide training and issue procedures for handling hazardous chemicals, failure to securely anchor machines.

Less widely reported was one innocuous sounding violation: Insufficient Toilet Facilities. The charge drew at least a few glib jibes: “Let My People Go,” trumpeted one legal journal in a headline thumbnailing the inspection.

But few could fathom the human humiliation behind it all. Hudson workers claim they were required to ask permission before being allowed bathroom breaks—and that permission was denied as often as granted. Some say they were forced to urinate in their clothes or wear diapers to absorb the inevitable. Thom Hanson, chief regulatory compliance officer at Hudson, defended the company’s position: The workers simply “need to ask supervisors to release them,” he explained. “Normally, a relief person comes by and takes their place.”

But relief was not always in sight, according to one woman who worked five years as a packer at Hudson. “It matters how good you get along with your supervisor. Sometimes they’ll say no,” she said. “And it’s pretty hard to leave the line when you’ve got thousands of chickens coming at you.”

OSHA regulations have long required that employers provide toilets in the workplace: at least six for the first 150 workers, and one more for each additional 40 workers. But in a twist of semantics defying logic, the regulations mandate only the presence of toilets on the scene—not employees’ rights to use them. In considering the Hudson complaints, OSHA officials found for the first time that the company in effect denied workers toilet facilities when it denied them the right to use them.

In the wake of the Hudson case and the ensuing public outcry, OSHA officials dictated at last that employers must give workers prompt and reasonable access to toilet facilities, even though the regulations do not specifically require it.

An official Standards and Compliance Letter issued by OSHA noted: “Toilets that employees are not allowed to use for extended periods cannot be said to be ‘available’ to those employees.”

In other words, employers can no longer hide behind the lacking letter of the law. Employers who do not allow employees reasonable access to workplace toilets may now be cited and sanctioned by OSHA inspectors.

You can find state and local health and building codes at your city hall or county courthouse.

State Overtime Rules (US)

This chart covers private sector employment only. The overtime rules summarized are not applicable to all employers or all employees. Occupations that generally are not subject to overtime laws include health care and attendant care, emergency medical personnel, seasonal workers, agricultural labor, camp counselors, nonprofits exempt under FLSA, salespeople working on a commission, transit drivers, baby sitters, and other household workers, and many others. For more information, contact your state’s department of labor and be sure to check its website, where most states have posted their overtime rules.

Alabama

No overtime provisions.

Alaska

Alaska Stat. §§ 23.10.055 and following

Time and a half after x hours per DAY: 8

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers of 4 or more employees; commerce or manufacturing businesses.

Notes: Voluntary flexible work hour plan of 10-hour day, 40-hour week, with premium pay after 10 hours is permitted.

Arizona

No overtime limits for private sector employers.

Arkansas

Ark. Code Ann. §§ 11-4-211, 11-4-203

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers of 4 or more employees.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employment that is subject to the FLSA.

Notes: Employees in retail and service establishments who spend up to 40% of their time on nonexempt work must be paid at least twice the state’s minimum wage ($572 per week).

California

Cal. Lab. Code §§ 510 and following; Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, §§ 11010 and following

Time and a half after x hours per DAY: 8; after 12 hours, double time.

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40. On 7th day: Time and a half for the first 8 hours; after 8 hours, double time.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Computer software employees who design, develop, create, analyze, test, or modify programs using independent judgment, or who are paid at least $45.84/hour.

Notes: Alternative four 10-hour day work week is permitted, if established prior to 7/1/99. 7th day premium pay not required when employee works no more than 30 hours per week or 6 hours per day.

Colorado

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-13-102; 7 Colo. Code Regs. § 1103-1(4)

Time and a half after x hours per DAY: 12

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employees in retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, health and medical industries.

Connecticut

Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 31-76b; Conn. Agencies Regs. § 31-62-E1(c)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40; premium pay on weekends, holidays, or 6th or 7th consecutive day.

Notes: In restaurants and hotels, time-and-a-half pay required for the 7th consecutive day of work or for hours that exceed 48 per week.

Delaware

No overtime provisions.

District of Columbia

D.C. Code Ann. § 32-1003(c); D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 7, § 906

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Florida

No overtime provisions.

Georgia

No overtime provisions.

Hawaii

Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 387-1; 387-3

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40. Dairy, sugar cane, and seasonal agricultural work: 48 hours per week.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employees earning guaranteed compensation of $2,000 or more per month.

Idaho

No state overtime rules that differ from FLSA.

Illinois

820 Ill. Comp. Stat. §§ 105/3(d), 105/4a

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers of 4 or more employees.

Indiana

Ind. Code Ann. § 22-2-2-4(j)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employment that is subject to the FLSA, movie theaters, seasonal camps and amusement parks, FLSA-exempt nonprofits.

Notes: Collective bargaining agreements ratified by the NLRB may have different overtime provisions. Domestic service work is not excluded from overtime laws.

Iowa

No state overtime limits.

Kansas

Kan. Stat. Ann. § 44-1204

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 46

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employment that is subject to the FLSA.

Kentucky

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 337.050, 337.285

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Retail, hotel, and restaurant businesses.

Notes: 7th day, time and a half.

Louisiana

No overtime provisions.

Maine

Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 26, § 664(3)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Auto mechanics, parts clerks, and salespersons; hotels, motels, and restaurants; canning, freezing, packing, and shipping produce and perishable foods.

Notes: Employee cannot be required to work more than 80 hours of overtime in any 2-week period.

Maryland

Md. Code Ann., [Lab. & Empl.] § 3-420

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40; 48 hours for bowling alleys and residential employees caring for the sick, aged, or mentally ill in institutions other than hospitals; 60 hours for agricultural work.

Massachusetts

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151, § 1A

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Agriculture, farming, fishing; hotel, motel, or restaurant; seasonal workers less than 5 months; hospital, nursing home, or rest home; public transit.

Notes: Sunday or holiday: Time and a half as overtime unless already paid that rate as part of regular compensation.

Michigan

Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 408.382 and following

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers of 2 or more employees.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employees not subject to state minimum wage laws.

Minnesota

Minn. Stat. Ann. § 177.25

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 48

Mississippi

No overtime provisions.

Missouri

Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 290.500 and following

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40; 52 hours for seasonal amusement or recreation businesses.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employment that is subject to the FLSA; retail or service business with gross annual sales or contracts of less than $500,000.

Montana

Mont. Code Ann. §§ 39-3-405 and following

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40; 48 hours for students working seasonal jobs at amusement or recreational areas.

Nebraska

No overtime provisions.

Nevada

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 608.018

Time and a half after x hours per DAY: 8

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Businesses with a gross annual sales volume of less than $250,000.

Notes: Employer and employee may agree to flextime schedule of four 10-hour days.

New Hampshire

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 279:21(VIII)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employees covered by the FLSA; employees in amusement, seasonal, or recreational business open 7 months or less a year.

New Jersey

N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 34:11-56a(4) and following

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment excluded from overtime laws: June to September: Summer camps, conferences, and retreats operated by nonprofit or religious groups.

New Mexico

N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-4-22(C)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

New York

N.Y. Lab. Law §§ 160(3), 161; N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 12, § 142-2.2

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40 for nonresidential workers; 44 for residential workers.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Same exemptions as FLSA.

North Carolina

N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 95-25.14, 95-25.4

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40; 45 hours a week in seasonal amusement or recreational establishments.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employment that is subject to the FLSA.

North Dakota

N.D. Admin. Code § 46-02-07-02(4)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40; 50 hours per week, cab drivers.

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Computer professionals who design, develop, create, analyze, test, or modify programs using independent judgment or who are paid at least $27.63/hour.

Ohio

Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 4111.03

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers who gross more than $150,000 a year.

Oklahoma

No state overtime provisions.

Oregon

Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 653.261, 653.265

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Notes: Time and a half required after 10 hours a day in canneries, driers, packing plants, mills, factories, and manufacturing facilities.

Pennsylvania

43 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 333.104(c); 34 Pa. Code § 231.41

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Rhode Island

R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 28-12-4.1 and following, 5-23-2(h)

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Notes: Time and a half for Sunday and holiday work is required for most retail businesses (these hours are not included in calculating weekly overtime).

South Carolina

No overtime provisions.

South Dakota

No overtime provisions.

Tennessee

No overtime provisions.

Texas

No overtime provisions.

Utah

No overtime provisions.

Vermont

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 21, §§ 382, 384(b); Vt. Code R. 24 090 001

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers of 2 or more employees

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Retail and service businesses if 75% of annual sales not for resale; hotels, motels, restaurants; transportation workers exempt under FLSA.

Virginia

No overtime provisions.

Washington

Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 49.46.130

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

West Virginia

W. Va. Code §§ 21-5c-1(e), 21-5c-3

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Employers of 6 or more employees at one location

Employment excluded from overtime laws: Employees that are subject to the FLSA.

Wisconsin

Wis. Stat. Ann. §§ 103.01, 103.03; Wis. Admin. Code DWD 274.01 and following

Time and a half after x hours per WEEK: 40

Employment overtime laws apply to: Manufacturing, mechanical, or retail businesses; beauty parlors, laundries, restaurants, hotels; telephone, express, shipping, and transportation companies.

Wyoming

No overtime provisions.