U.S. Virgin Islands State Plan for Occupational Safety and Health

Resumo

The U.S. Virgin Islands operates a state occupational safety and health program or ``state plan'' which is federally approved under section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In 1984, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration made a ``final approval'' determination under section 18(e) of the Act which in effect gave exclusive regulatory authority over all safety and health issues covered by the state plan to the Virgin Islands Department of Labor. (The Virgin Islands State Plan is limited in coverage to safety issues, in the private sector.) The most recent Federal monitoring of the state plan indicates that state plan enforcement has ceased to be ``at least as effective as'' that provided under OSHA and that other 18(e) requirements are no longer being met. In response to that finding, the Virgin Islands Commissioner of Labor has agreed to voluntarily relinquish the State's final approval status, has requested the reassertion of concurrent Federal enforcement jurisdiction, and has pledged to accomplish the necessary corrective action. As a result, the affirmative 18(e) determination is under reconsideration by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Sa