Kentucky’s official “State Plan” covers state and local government workers and is administered by the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health (Kentucky OSH) under the Kentucky Labor Cabinet’s Department of Workplace Standards.
State Plan Standards
The Commonwealth of Kentucky’s 13-member Kentucky OSH Standards Board can approve, amend, or repeal OSH standards. Kentucky OSH standards are divided into three categories: state-specific standards that are specific to Kentucky, OSHA standards that have been incorporated without change, and OSHA standards that have been included with state-specific features.
General Industry
- Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records
- Batteries
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Contest of Citations
- Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout)
- Discrimination
- Electrical Testing
- Employers’ Responsibility Where Employees are Exposed to Toxic Substances
- Fire Apparatus and Fire Department Facilities
- Flammable and Combustible Liquids
- Guarding Floor and Wall Openings and Holes
- Laboratory Activities
- Machinery and Machine Guarding
- Materials Handling and Storage
- Medical Services and First-Aid
- Occupational Noise
- Off Highway Motor Vehicles and Equipment
- Powered Industrial Trucks
- Receiving and Unloading Bulk Hazardous Liquids
- Recordkeeping; Reporting; Statistics
- Refuse Collection and Compaction Equipment
- Rollover Protective Structures; Overhead Equipment
- Safety Belts, Lanyards, and Life Lines
- Sanitation
- Selection and Use of Work Practices (Electrical)
- Toxic and Hazardous Substances (including 4,4 Methylene bis (2-Chloroaniline))
Construction
- Blasting and Use of Explosives
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Contest of Citations
- Discrimination
- Employers Responsibilities Where Employees Are Exposed to Toxic Substances
- Fall Protection, Cranes and Derricks in Construction
- Fall Protection, Residential
- Fall Protection, Steel Erection
- Material Hoists, Personnel Hoists, and Elevators
- Power Transmission and Distribution
- Receiving and Unloading Bulk Hazardous Liquids
- Recordkeeping; Reporting; Statistics
- Refuse Collection and Compaction Equipment
- Safety and Testing of Supply Lines in Excess of 600 Volts
In addition, the Kentucky State Plan also covers all private sector workplaces in the state with the following exception:
- Maritime employment, including shipyard employment, marine terminals, and longshoring;
- Employment at Tennessee Valley Authority facilities, military bases, and other properties ceded to the federal government;
- Contract workers and contractor-operated facilities engaged in United States Postal Service (USPS) mail operations;
- The enforcement of the field sanitation standard (29 CFR 1928.110) and the enforcement of the temporary labor camps standard (29 CFR 1910.142) with respect to any agricultural establishment where workers are engaged in “agricultural employment” within the meaning of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. 1802(3) – regardless of the number of workers – including workers engaged in hand packing of produce into containers, whether done on the ground, on a moving machine, or in a temporary packing shed, except that Kentucky retains enforcement responsibility over agricultural temporary labor camps for workers engaged in egg, poultry, or red meat production, or the post-harvest processing of agricultural or horticultural commodities;
- All working conditions of aircraft cabin crew members onboard aircraft in operation; and
- Any hazard, industry, geographical area, operation or facility over which the state is unable to effectively exercise jurisdiction for reasons not related to the required performance or structure of the State Plan.
Workers in Kentucky who opt for supervisory or managerial roles in the construction industry must take Online OSHA 30-Hour Training in Kentucky since Federal OSHA and most employers mandate it prefers OSHA 30-Hour certified employees over those without prior training.
