Labor & Industries (L&I), Washington State

Core Rules

 

Employer Responsibilities: Safe Workplace WAC 296-800-110

For printing

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:

Provide a workplace free from recognized hazards	WAC 296-800-11005
Provide and use means to make your workplace safe	WAC 296-800-11010
Prohibit employees from entering, or being in, any workplace that is not safe	WAC 296-800-11015
Construct your workplace so it is safe	WAC 296-800-11020
Prohibit alcohol and narcotics from your workplace	WAC 296-800-11025
Prohibit employees from using tools and equipment that are not safe	WAC 296-800-11030
Establish, supervise, and enforce rules that lead to a safe and healthy work environment that are effective in practice	WAC 296-800-11035
Control chemical agents	WAC 296-800-11040
Protect employees from biological agents	WAC 296-800-11045

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

WAC 296-800-11045

Protect employees from biological agents

You must

1. Protect employees from exposure to hazardous concentrations of biological agents that may result from processing, handling or using materials or waste.

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.

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.

Reference: Additional requirements for biohazard signs, tags, and labels may apply. See WAC 296-823-14025 and WAC 296-823-18040 of the Bloodborne Pathogens book.

 

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.