§ 95-126. Short title and legislative purpose.
Article 16.
Occupational Safety andHealth Act of North Carolina.
§ 95‑126. Short titleand legislative purpose.
(a) This Article shallbe known as the "Occupational Safety and Health Act of NorthCarolina" and also may be referred to by abbreviations as "OSHANC."
(b) Legislativefindings and purpose:
(1) The General Assemblyfinds that the burden of employers and employees of this State resulting frompersonal injuries and illnesses arising out of work situations is substantial;that the prevention of these injuries and illnesses is an important objectiveof the government of this State; that the greatest hope of attaining thisobjective lies in programs of research, education and enforcement, and in theearnest cooperation of the federal and State governments, employers andemployees.
(2) The General Assemblyof North Carolina declares it to be its purpose and policy through the exerciseof its powers to ensure so far as possible every working man and woman in theState of North Carolina safe and healthful working conditions and to preserveour human resources:
a. By encouragingemployers and employees in their effort to reduce the number of occupationalsafety and health hazards at the place of employment, and to stimulateemployers and employees to institute new and to perfect existing programs forproviding safe and healthful working conditions;
b. By providing thatemployers and employees have separate but dependent responsibilities and rightswith respect to achieving safe and healthful working conditions;
c. By authorizing theCommissioner to develop occupational safety and health standards applicable tobusiness giving consideration to the needs of employers and employees and toadopt standards promulgated from time to time by the Secretary of Labor underthe Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and by creating a safety andhealth review commission for carrying out adjudicatory functions under thisArticle;
d. By building uponadvances already made through employer and employee initiative for providingsafe and healthful working conditions;
e. By providingoccupational health criteria which will assure insofar as practicable that noemployee will suffer diminished health, functional capacity, or life expectancyas a result of his work experience;
f. By providing fortraining programs to increase the number and competence of personnel engaged inthe field of occupational safety and health;
g. By providing aneffective enforcement program which shall include a prohibition against givingadvance notice of an inspection and sanctions for any individual violating thisprohibition;
h. By providing forappropriate reporting procedures with respect to occupational safety and healthwhich procedures will help achieve the objectives of this Article and accuratelydescribe the nature of the occupational safety and health problem;
i. By encouragingjoint employer‑employee efforts to reduce injuries and diseases arisingout of employment;
j. By providing forresearch in the field of occupational safety and health, by developinginnovative methods, techniques, and approaches for dealing with occupationalsafety and health problems;
k. By exploring ways todiscover latent diseases, establishing causal connections between diseases andwork in environmental conditions, and conducting other research relating tohealth problems, in recognition of the fact that occupational health standardspresent problems often different from those involved in occupational safety;
l. By authorizing theCommissioner to enter into contracts with the Department of Health and HumanServices, or any other State or local units, to the end the Commissioner andthe Department of Health and Human Services and other State or local units mayfully cooperate and carry out the ends and purposes of this Article.
m. The General Assemblyof North Carolina appoints and elects the North Carolina Department of Labor asthe designated agency to administer the Occupational Safety and Health Act ofNorth Carolina. (1973,c. 295, s. 1; c. 476, s. 128; 1989, c. 727, s. 219(13); 1997‑443, s.11A.33; 2005‑133, s. 2.)