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Employer Responsibilities:
Safe Workplace
WAC 296-800-110
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Your Responsibility:
To provide a safe and healthy workplace
free from recognized hazards
Important:
Use these rules where there are no specific
rules applicable to the particular hazard.
You must:
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Note:
Employees
may discuss and participate in any WISHA safety and health
related practice and may refuse to perform dangerous tasks
without fear of discrimination. Discrimination includes:
dismissal, demotion, loss of seniority, denial of a promotion,
harassment, etc. See
Chapter 296-360 WAC, Discrimination pursuant to
RCW 49.17.160 for a complete description of discrimination
and the
department's responsibility to protect employees.
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WAC 296-800-11005
Provide a workplace free from recognized
hazards
You must:
- Provide your
employees a workplace free from recognized
hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause,
serious injury or death.
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Note:
A hazard is recognized if it is commonly
known in the employer's industry, or if there is evidence
that the employer knew or should have known of the existence
of the hazard, or if it can be established that any reasonable
person would have recognized the hazard. |
WAC 296-800-11010
Provide and use means to make your workplace
safe
You must:
- Provide and use safety devices, safeguards,
and use work practices, methods, processes, and means that are
reasonably adequate to make your workplace safe.
- - Don't remove, displace, damage, destroy
or carry off any safety device, safeguard, notice or warning,
furnished for use in any employment or place of employment.
- - Don't interfere with use of any of the
above.
- - Don't interfere with the use of any method
or process adopted for the protection of any employee.
- - Do everything reasonably necessary to
protect the life and safety of your employees.
WAC 296-800-11015
Prohibit employees from entering, or being
in, any workplace that is not safe
You must:
- Prohibit employees from entering, or being
in, any workplace that is not safe.
WAC 296-800-11020
Construct your workplace so it is safe
You must:
- Not construct, or cause to be constructed,
a workplace that is not safe.
- - This rule applies to employers, owners,
and renters of property used as a place of employment.
WAC 296-800-11025
Prohibit alcohol and narcotics from your
workplace
You must:
- Prohibit alcohol and narcotics from your workplace,
except in industries and businesses that produce, distribute,
or sell alcohol and narcotic drugs.
- Prohibit employees under the influence of
alcohol or narcotics from the worksite.
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Exemption:
Employees who are taking prescription
drugs, as directed by a physician or dentist, are exempt
from this section, if the employees are not a danger to
themselves or other employees. |
WAC 296-800-11030
Prohibit employees from using tools and equipment
that are not safe
You must:
- Take responsibility for the safe condition
of tools and equipment used by employees.
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Note:
This applies to all equipment, materials,
tools, and machinery whether owned by the employer or
another firm or individual. |
WAC 296-800-11035
Establish, supervise, and enforce rules that
lead to a safe and healthy work environment that are effective
in practice
You must:
- Establish, supervise, and enforce rules that
lead to a safe and healthy work environment that are effective
in practice.
WAC 296-800-11040
Control chemical agents
You must:
- Control chemical agents in a manner that they
will not present a hazard to your workers;
or
- Protect workers from the hazard of contact
with, or exposure to, chemical agents.
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Note:
Pesticides are considered to be chemical
agents. As required by this rule, you must control
them or provide protection to workers from exposure
to pesticide hazards. Pesticide manufacturers
supply precautionary statements in the information provided
with the pesticide that tells you how to protect your
workers from these hazards.
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WAC 296-800-11045
Protect employees from biological agents
You must
- Protect employees from exposure
to hazardous concentrations of biological agents that may result
from processing, handling or using materials or waste.
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Note:
Potential exposure to biological agents
occurs during cleanup, or other tasks, where employees
handle:
- Animals or animal waste
- Body fluids
- Biological agents in a medical research
lab
- Mold or mildew
Check The Center of Disease Control
website (www.cdc.gov)
to find published guidelines and information on safe
handling and protection from specific biological agents
(examples: Hanta virus, TB).
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2. Warn employees of biohazards
- Use signs, tags, or labels to identify:
- - The actual or potential presence
of a biohazard
and
- - Equipment, containers, rooms, materials,
experimental animals, or any combinations of these that
contain viable hazardous agents.
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Definition:
Biohazard means those infectious agents
presenting a risk or potential risk of death, injury or
illness to employees. |
You must
- Make sure the sign, tag, or label includes
the biohazard symbol that is designed and proportioned in the
illustration that follows.
Symbol for Biological
Hazard
You must
- Make sure that there is sufficient contrast
for the symbol to be clearly defined, if the sign, tag, or label
has a background color.
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Note:
- It’s recommended that the sign,
tag or label have a key color of fluorescent orange or
orange-red and lettering or symbols in a contrasting color.
- Appropriate wording may be used in association
with the symbol to indicate:
- - The nature or identity of the
hazard
- - Name of individual responsible
for its control
- - Precautionary information
or
- - Other information.
- This information should not be written
on the symbol.
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