Updated List of Exempt Industries

OSHA has issued an updated list of industries whose small employers are exempt from programmed safety inspections.

Under federal law, an employer is exempt who had 10 or fewer workers at all times during the previous 12 months and whose industry appears on the list. To be on the list, an industry must have had a “days away restricted or transferred” (DART) rate in 2010 that is below the national average of 1.8 employees for every 100 workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics creates the list based on results from a survey of more than 250,000 businesses.

Among the 87 industries added to the list are:

• Support activities for oil and gas (mining) operations
• Electric power distribution
• Tile and terrazzo contractors
• Breweries
• Dry pasta manufacturing
• Carpet and rug mills
• Coastal and Great Lakes freight transportation
• Metal household furniture manufacturing
• Burial casket manufacturing

Removed from the list because of above average DART rates are 117 industries, including:

• Timber tract operations
• Forest nurseries
• Shellfish fishing
• Fossil fuel electric power generation
• Painting and wall covering contractors
• Thread ills
• Coffee and tea manufacturing
• Textile machinery manufacturing
• Industrial mold manufacturing
• Seafood markets
• Fruit and vegetable markets
• Nut stores
• Bed and breakfast inns

Employers on the list are still subject to some types of OSHA inspections. The agency can investigate complaints by current employees, accidents that cause fatalities or hospitalization of at least two workers, and imminent danger threats.

Visit OSHA’s website for more information.