Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH)

November 13, 2008 Meeting Minutes

Room N-3437 A/B/C

U.S. Department of Labor, Francis Perkins Building

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.  20210

Representatives Attending 

Thomas M. Stohler, Acting Chair 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health

Department of Labor

William “Chico” McGill, Vice Chair – Labor representative

Director, Government Employees Department

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO

Curtis M. Bowling – Federal agency representative

Director of Environmental Readiness and Safety

Department of Defense

Donald G. Bathurst – Federal agency representative

Chief of Administrative Services

Department of Homeland Security

Ralph E. Dudley – Federal agency representative

General Manager – Safety and Health

Tennessee Valley Authority

Gilbert ‘Gil’ L. Smith, Jr. – Federal agency representative

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Kathleen J. H. Wheeler – Federal agency representative

Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer

U.S. Department of the Interior

Dennis J. Bushta – Federal agency representative

Director, Safety, Health and Environmental Management Division

Environmental Protection Agency

Matthew Biggs – Alternate labor representative

Legislative and Political Director

International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers

Ruth Ann “Randi” Ciszewski – Alternate labor representative

Government Fleet Representative

National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO

Alan Kadrofske – Alternate labor representative

Legislative Representative

American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO

Deborah Kleinberg, Esq. - Alternate labor representative

Counsel

Seafarers International Union, AFL-CIO

Also Participating

Patrick Kapust, Acting Deputy Director

Directorate of Enforcement Programs

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Department of Labor

Francis Yebesi, Director

Office of Federal Agency Programs

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Department of Labor

Shelby Hallmark, Director

Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP)

Employment Standards Administration (ESA)

Department of Labor

Tom Galassi, Director

Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Department of Labor

John Ferris, Director

Office of Emergency Management

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Department of Labor

Mikki Holmes

OSHA – Office of Federal Agency Programs

Department of Labor

Greg Barber

OSHA - Office of Federal Agency Programs 

Department of Labor

Lewis Ligon

OSHA - Office of Federal Agency Programs 

Department of Labor

Michelle Walker

OSHA - Office of Federal Agency Programs 

Department of Labor

Joe Plick

Office of the Solicitor of Labor

Department of Labor

Nalini Close

Office of the Executive Secretariat

Department of Labor

Call to Order and Introductions

Acting Chair, Thomas M. Stohler, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, called the meeting of the Federal
Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH or Council)
to order at 1:08 p.m. on November 13, 2008.  Mr. Stohler requested that
Francis Yebesi, Department of Labor (DOL), Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), Office of Federal Agency Programs (OFAP)
provide a review of the emergency and shelter-in-place procedures. 
FACOSH members and alternates, and other attendees were then asked to
introduce themselves.  

Council Organization and Procedures

Mr. Stohler explained the January 2008 FACOSH member nomination process
and welcomed the newly appointed Council members.  He also explained the
meeting’s procedures and Council’s purpose, organization, and
function.  Mr. Stohler noted that the members would need to elect a new
vice chair from among the labor representatives and stated that this
election would occur later in the proceedings.

FACA Requirements

Joe Plick, Office of the Solicitor of Labor (SOL), DOL, briefed the
Council on the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and its
requirements for FACOSH members and the Department.  Mr. Plick explained
that Congress enacted FACA in 1972 to provide structure to the operation
and termination of advisory committees, and to allow them to give advice
and recommendations to the Executive Branch.  He noted that the General
Services Administration (GSA) has government-wide oversight of FACA
committees.

According to Mr. Plick, FACA outlines how committees may be established,
requires that they be chartered, stipulates a “balanced” membership
in terms of points of view and committee functions, requires public
meetings and recorded minutes, calls for bi-annual rechartering, and
provides guidelines for meeting discussions and media contact.  Mr.
Plick further explained how FACA imposes responsibilities on the
agencies, including creating roles such as the Committee Management
Officer, and the Designated Federal Office (DFO).  He informed the
members that Francis Yebesi, OSHA, is the DFO for FACOSH. He also noted
that FACA required various periodic reports to specific entities.

Mr. Plick described the circumstances that could result in a closed
meeting and clarified that FACA required reports of closed meetings.  As
additional information on FACA, Mr. Plick reported that subcommittees
were not generally subject to FACA requirements, that certain
Council-related activities such as preparatory work did not need to
occur in an open forum, and that most committee-related material needs
to be made available to the public.

Nalini Close, Office of the Executive Secretariat, DOL, Committee
Management Officer, drew members’ attention to the provided FACA
brochure.  She provided further information on the public nature of
advisory committees such as FACOSH and cautioned members on discussing
committee business outside of the public forum.  Ms. Close also
discussed the use of electronic communication and noted that if
electronic conversations became substantive discussions they could be
considered meetings and require notice.  Finally, Ms. Close provided
information on the process for providing the required annual report to
Congress.

Election of Vice Chair

Mr. Stohler thanked Curtis Bowling, Director of Environmental Readiness
and Safety, Department of Defense, for his service as Vice-Chair during
calendar year 2008 and reported that Mr. William “Chico” McGill, the
Director of the Government Employees Department, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, had been nominated and was
willing to serve as Vice Chair for 2009.  Mr. Stohler entertained the
motion and it was seconded; no additional nominations were received. 
Mr. McGill was elected on a voice vote with no opposition.

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Stohler certified the accuracy of the April 10, 2008 meeting minutes
and entertained the motion to accept the minutes.  The motion was
seconded and approved without opposition.  

Old Business

Safety, Health, and Return-to-Employment (SHARE) Initiative

SHARE FY 2008 Progress

Mr. Yebesi and Shelby Hallmark, Director, Office of Workers’
Compensation Programs (OWCP), Employment Standards Administration (ESA),
DOL, conducted a joint presentation on the Presidential Safety, Health,
and Return-to-Employment (SHARE) Initiative to improve safety and health
among federal employees.  Mr. Yebesi recalled that the previous FACOSH
meeting had included information on the performance results from the
first quarter of FY 2008.  He reiterated the four goals of the SHARE
initiative as reducing total and lost time injury and illness case
rates, increasing the timely submission of workers’ compensation claim
forms, and reducing the lost production day rates (LPDRs).  Mr. Yebesi
noted that the FY 2007 SHARE summary was part of the FY 2007
President’s Report that was forwarded to the President.  

According to Mr. Yebesi, the federal government (less the U.S. Postal
Service – USPS) and 10 of 18 departments achieved the first goal by
reducing their total case rates (TCRs).  He reported similar success for
the second goal of reducing lost time case rates (LTCRs) in that the
federal government (less the USPS) and 9 of 18 departments achieved the
goal.  Mr. Yebesi specifically praised the accomplishments of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Mr. Hallmark extolled the benefits of the SHARE Initiative and explained
the rationale for including timely filing of workers’ compensation
forms in an initiative to improve federal occupational safety and
health.  According to Mr. Hallmark, there had been tremendous
accomplishments in improving the timely filing of claims forms over the
course of the Initiative and that nearly all departments were above
their goals.  With respect to the goal of reducing LPDRs, Mr. Hallmark
reported dramatic improvements and cited the benefits of such
improvements.  He also echoed Mr. Yebesi’s praise of DHS’s efforts
and successes in achieving the goals of the SHARE Initiative.

Mr. Hallmark closed his presentation by noting the cooperation of OSHA
and OWCP in providing the resources to help federal agencies improve
their working environments and cited his belief in the ability to
continue such improvements.  

Mr. Stohler thanked all the agencies on behalf of the Secretary of Labor
for their efforts and noted that FY 2009 was the Initiative’s final
year and the Department was exploring options for a replacement program.

FY 2007 President’s Report

Michelle Walker, OSHA, provided “major highlights” from the Fiscal
Year 2007 President’s Report, which she stated had been delivered to
the White House on October 6, 2008.  Ms. Walker explained that the
President’s Report on the status of occupational safety and health
(OSH) in the federal sector was a requirement under Section 19 of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Ms. Walker noted that the report contained several sections:

The Overview covered the reporting requirements for federal agencies and
the Report itself.  The Overview also included a discussion of federal
agency OSH program requirements.

The Executive Summary synopsized the various topics and sections of the
Report.

Part I contained detailed information on the federal government’s FY
2007 performance towards achieving the goals of the SHARE Initiative.

Part II contained individual summary reports from each of the
departments and independent agencies.

Part III included summary statistical tables and charts depicting trends
for specific data sets over extended time periods.

After describing the Report’s format, Ms. Walker discussed highlights
of the report, including several categories of OSH statistics. 
According to Ms. Walker, the federal government experienced decreases in
injury and illness cases and rates, and fatalities.  She noted that many
of the fatalities were the results of motor vehicle accidents.  Ms.
Walker reported that workers’ compensation costs had increased
slightly.

Ms. Walker also highlighted:

The majority of agencies have implemented the revised recordkeeping
requirements and several have established electronic information
systems.  Some of the systems include “near misses” in their records
and tracking.

All agencies reported having some type of motor vehicle safety program
and most included seat belt requirements in keeping with Executive Order
13043.

Agencies reported a wide variety of experience with respect to workplace
violence and several agencies provided information on their policies and
prevention programs.

Part II of the Report provided summaries for the individual departments
and independent agencies, and each summary included sections on
department/agency statistics, SHARE achievements, motor vehicle safety,
recordkeeping, employee support (including training and involvement in
the DOL-chartered Field Federal Safety and Health Councils),
accomplishments, and goals.

Part III included 17 statistical charts.

Ms. Walker stated that the memorandum asking for FY 2008 agency reports
had been forwarded to the agencies on October 16, 2008 and that it
included a request for information on injuries and illnesses related to
emergency response situations.  She also noted that the memo asked for
detailed information on agencies’ self-evaluation programs to assess
the effectiveness of their OSH management systems.

According to Ms. Walker, there were two different report templates for
agency annual reports: the detailed report, and one allowing an
abbreviated format for smaller agencies.  She also mentioned that the
reports were due to OSHA by January 1, 2009.

Ms. Randi Cizewski, National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association
(NMEBA), questioned whether OSHA was the source of the Navy’s recently
implemented motorcycle driving and reporting requirement.  Ms. Walker
stated that such reporting was not an OSHA requirement.  There were no
more questions on the topic.

FEDTARG08 Inspection Program

Greg Barber, OSHA, noted that the FEDTARG08 program was first
implemented in January 2008 and had been designed based on the private
sector’s site-specific targeting (SST) program.  He clarified that
FEDTARG used OWCP claims data instead of the OSHA 300 data used for the
SST program.

Mr. Barber explained that FEDTARG08 inspections were comprehensive
safety inspections, but could also include a health inspection and
address ergonomic issues.  He noted that site selection for FEDTARG08
was based on FY 2006 OWCP lost time case data and that FEDTARG09 would
use FY 2007 data.  He stated that each OSHA Region could contact the
National Office to request a list of secondary sites and would be
encouraged to do so.  

Mr. Barber enumerated the circumstances that would entail deleting a
specific site from the inspection list, either automatically or once
selected.  According to Mr. Barber, these circumstances included:

Fewer than 20 lost time cases,

Has received a comprehensive safety inspection within the previous 24
months;

Is a participant in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP); or 

Is an OSHA Strategic Partnership site that satisfies specific program
requirements.

With respect to the results of the FEDTARG program, Mr. Barber reported:

490 federal agency inspections discovered over 1,000 violations;

Of those numbers, 109 were FEDTARG inspections and discovered 189
violations; and

There were four significant cases in the federal sector, all of which
were associated with FEDTARG; Mr. Barber explained that significant
cases were those that would have resulted in at least $100,000 in
penalties in the private sector.

Following Mr. Barber’s presentation Dennis J. Bushta, Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) asked what organization actually performed the
inspections.  Mr. Barber responded that OSHA area office personnel
performed the inspections.  Ralph Dudley, Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) asked about the program’s measurement of “success” and
whether it was qualitative.  Mr. Barber explained that the program’s
success would be measured over time based on the numbers and types of
violations discovered during inspections and acknowledged it is a
qualitative assessment.

As there were no further questions, Mr. Stohler moved on to the next
agenda item.

FACOSH Recordkeeping Subcommittee

Mikki Holmes, OSHA, explained that the Recordkeeping Subcommittee was
established during the March 1, 2007 FACOSH meeting to explore
strategies for collecting the site-specific injury and illness data that
federal agencies are now required to keep under OSHA recordkeeping
requirements found at 29 CFR Part 1904.  She clarified that the
subcommittee was focused on how OSHA could collect the injury and
illness data from federal agencies, and how agencies could identify
volunteers on the required logs.  She also discussed the
subcommittee’s recommendations for how OSHA could accomplish these
goals and the benefits they predicted would accrue from the data
collection.

Ms. Holmes continued her presentation by discussing the SOL-recommended
rule changes that were necessary to establish the data collection
process.  According to Ms. Holmes the rule changes would include:

Establishing OSHA’s authority to collect the injury and illness
recordkeeping data on a recurring annual basis,

Changing the due date for the agencies’ annual reports to OSHA and the
Department of Labor’s required annual report to the President,

Re-establishing that OSHA has the right to access medical records,

Clarifying the reporting requirements for volunteers and federal
employees employed by one agency and supervised by another, and

Require that federal agencies use the Office of Personnel Management job
series number to fill out the job title information on the OSHA 301
form.

Ms. Holmes noted that the current status of the project was that the
rule change language was being finalized and would then need DOL and
Office of Management and Budget approvals.  She also reported that SOL
was drafting a necessary related interagency agreement between OSHA and
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  

According to Ms. Holmes, the related current accomplishments included:

Collection of major departments’ and largest independent agencies’
establishment lists and lists from 59 other federal entities,

Continuing list consolidation and review,

Piloting the data survey and addressing the subsequent difficulties with
compiling establishment-level data,

Determining where OSHA will store and code the data, 

Identifying training options, and 

Projecting support costs.

Gilbert Smith, Jr., U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asked a
question related to record access that was not completely recorded and
Ms. Holmes responded that the original one did not address the issue.

Since there were no other questions on the subject, Mr. Stohler
proceeded to the next update.

Federal Agency Training

Lewis Ligon, OSHA, reported that the federal agency training week would
be held the following week (November 17-21) and was intended to provide
an opportunity for non-OSHA OSH and collateral duty personnel to enhance
their OSH knowledge.  According to Mr. Ligon, the training was free to
federal personnel and would consist of half-day sessions of concurrent
seminars held over three days.

Mr. Ligon stated that approximately 120 students had registered for the
training sessions during the October pre-registration period.  Mr. Ligon
listed the available classes and clarified that the last two sessions
would be a joint session and would include a discussion of 29 CFR 1960
requirements and allow questions to a panel of experts.

As to future training plans, Mr. Ligon noted that in FY 2010 the
training week would occur during the summer months at the OSHA Training
Institute (OTI).  Mr. Smith’s (USDA) question was not recorded; Mr.
Ligon’s response was that he did not have the list of attendees but
that it included a big cross-section of federal agencies.

Mr. McGill (IBEW) asked about the types of attendees and who was allowed
to attend.  Mr. Ligon clarified that it was OSH personnel and those with
safety and health collateral duties.  Mr. McGill expressed interest in a
list of attendees and Mr. Ligon stated that OSHA would provide that
information at the next FACOSH meeting.  Mr. Smith clarified that his
question related to the calendar change because summer was during the
fire season and a higher injury area.

There were no other questions so Mr. Stohler moved on to the New
Business portion of the meeting.

New Business

Emergency Preparedness

Tom Galassi, Director, Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency
Management (OSHA) explained that his Directorate had previously been
named the Directorate of Science, Technology, and Medicine, but had been
reorganized to consolidate and institutionalize the emergency management
function.  He also noted that he had been the Director for less than
three months.  Mr. Galassi then introduced John Ferris, Director, Office
of Emergency Management.

Mr. Ferris began by providing an overview of his presentation, noting
that he would include information on:

OSHA’s role in emergency preparedness and response,

Current projects and requested necessary assistance, and

Questions for FACOSH.

Mr. Ferris first discussed the emergency response hierarchy by
describing the federal government’s role in supporting local emergency
response.  He also clarified that the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) in the Department of Homeland Security is the designated
lead agency for coordinating most federal emergency assistance.  Mr.
Ferris described the National Response Framework and the various federal
entities involved in providing emergency response assistance and their
roles in providing that assistance.  

According to Mr. Ferris, OSHA’s role within the National Response
Framework is to coordinate the Worker Safety and Health Support Annex. 
Mr. Ferris stated that the Annex outlines the resources available under
the Framework and specifies actions necessary during an emergency
response.

Mr. Ferris noted that the Annex was responsible for collecting
response-related injury and illness data and providing it to FEMA.  He
explained that the difficulty in collecting injury and illness data
varied with the size and complexity of the response effort and that the
collection effort itself was relatively recent.  

Mr. Ferris stated that the Annex had piloted that data collection
process during the responses to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.  Mr. Ferris
clarified that the Annex was asking for data that agencies were already
required to report on OSHA recordkeeping forms.  He noted that the pilot
project collected data on a weekly basis during the hurricane responses,
but that the collection would occur during any sort of emergency
response, not just hurricane responses.  Mr. Ferris also mentioned
issues related to separating work-related fatalities from the overall
number of fatalities associated with the disaster, and ascertaining the
accuracy of the information collected.  According to Mr. Ferris, the
project was working with the Office of Workers’ Compensation to
correlate claims data with the data reported during the disaster.  He
also mentioned using the agency annual report data to assist with the
tracking effort.

With respect to assistance with the data collection effort, Mr. Ferris
asked for information related to:

Whether individual agencies could provide “real time” information
and any challenges involved with providing timely information.

Contract language addressing safety and health and collecting related
data.

Agencies’ systems for safety and health data collection and analysis

Options and considerations for broadening the scope of the data
collection beyond those agencies involved in the hurricane responses

The value of and recommendations for collecting the data from the
various state and local response agencies.

Mr. Ferris concluded his presentation by asking for comments or
suggestions from FACOSH members.

Ralph Dudley, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) noted that TVA typically
sent 40-100 electrical workers to aid with emergency response efforts. 
He opined that simply adding language related to the data collection to
TVA’s mutual aid and emergency response plans would clarify the issue
and that, since TVA always sent a safety professional with its emergency
response crews, the safety professional could transmit the information
electronically.  

Responding to Mr. Dudley’s comments, Mr. Ferris noted that the concept
of mutual aid and coordination and communication between agencies and
employers were matters that needed resolution within the data collection
effort.  Mr. Dudley clarified that he saw no issues with federal
reporting but that adding state, local, and private sector employers
would increase the complexity of the effort.  He also noted that
providing education and information on the collection effort would
likely increase the willingness of employers outside the federal sector
to provide the information.

Ms. Cizewski (NMEBA) noted that communicating the reporting requirements
to the line supervisors was imperative to the success of the collection
effort.  Mr. Ferris replied that including the necessary language would
probably need to originate from the tasking agency.  Ms. Cizewski
continued and asked for clarification on distinguishing the reported
data and whether the effort wanted injury data only for disaster-related
events or for everything that occurred during the response.  Mr. Ferris
stated that the effort wanted all the data.

Mr. McGill (IBEW) asked whether the data collection was including the
private sector.  Mr. Ferris replied that the current project was only
collecting data from “federal assets or the federally-deployed
assets.”

Mr. Bushta (EPA) asked about the composition of membership on the Annex
Coordination Committee.  Mr. Ferris responded that he thought the
Committee had over 40 members and provided some names.  He also noted
that the Committee wanted to assure that it was communicating with the
proper personnel in order to collect all the relevant data and that he
was asking for FACOSH input for that reason.

Mr. Ferris then thanked the members for their assistance and concluded
his presentation.  Mr. Stohler proceeded to next item of new business.

2009 FACOSH Nominations

Mr. Stohler noted that five members’ terms would expire in June 2009:
three management members and two labor members.  He stated that a
request for member nominations would likely published prior to the next
meeting to allow time for member selection.  According to Mr, Stohler
everyone who submitted a timely nomination and met the membership
requirements would receive consideration.  He added that the Secretary
(of Labor) might consider other qualified individuals and could refer to
other relevant sources of information in making appointments.  He
assured the members that they would receive notification of Notice
publication.  

When there were no questions regarding FACOSH nominations, Mr. Stohler
opened the floor for any other new business.

Other New Business

Kathleen Wheeler, Department of the Interior (DOI), asked about the
existence of government-wide or White House awards for health and
safety.  Ms. Cizewski mentioned the Navy’s award for Seafarers, and
Mr. Yebesi confirmed the existence of agency-level awards, but no one
knew of any national or government-wide awards.  Ms. Wheeler expressed
interest in exploring the subject and Mr. Stohler noted that it was a
good idea.

Since there was no other new business, Mr. Stohler began discussion of
setting the date for the next meeting.

Next Meeting and Adjournment

Mr. Stohler suggested that the next FACOSH meeting be scheduled for
April 16, 2009 and there was no objection.  Mr. Yebesi (OSHA) then
entered the various meeting documents into the record.  Mr. Stohler
adjourned the meeting at 3:08 pm.

*	Exhibit documents (listed below) from this meeting are available for
copying and inspection at the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No.
OSHA-2008-00047, Room N-3437, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, N.W., Washington DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350.  Exhibits
can also be accessed at   HYPERLINK "http://www.regulations.gov" 
http://www.regulations.gov , the federal eRulemaking Portal.

Document	Document Description

0002	News Release:  FACOSH Meeting Announcement

0003	April 10, 2008 Approved FACOSH Meeting Minutes and combined program
updates and PowerPoints on SHARE and the FY 2007 Secretary of Labor’s
Report to the President

0004	Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program, Federal Agency
Recordkeeping Data Collection Effort, Federal Agency Training, and
Injury and Illness Data Collection During Disasters

0005	FY 2008 SHARE Report

0006	FY 2007 President’s Report

0007	OSHA’s FY 2008 Annual Report Request

0008	FEDTARG08 Directive

0009	Federal Agency Training Week Registration and Course Description
Information



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