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South Carolina OSHA (SCOSH)
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The South Carolina General Assembly recently amended the statutes under which OSHA citations are reviewed in South Carolina and now a South Carolina Administrative Law Court judge conducts contested-case hearings. The procedure to request a hearing is in the Rules of Procedure [PDF - 97 KB] for the South Carolina Administrative Law Court on the ALC Web site. Unless a penalty is contested, it must be paid even though all violations have been corrected. Decisions by a judge of the court may be appealed directly to the South Carolina Court of Appeals. The change was necessary because the contested caseload in South Carolina had fallen so low – fewer than 40 cases per year. South Carolina OSHA anticipates significant improvement in the timeliness of final determinations because of the change.

Enforcement

In fiscal year 2008, South Carolina OSHA conducted 1,608 inspections. Of those, 1,344 were safety-related and 264 were health-related. By type there were:
  • 1,096 planned inspections

  • 175 complaint-related inspections

  • 89 unprogrammed inspections

  • 67 follow-up inspections

  • 62 accident and fatality Inspections

  • 66 programmed inspections

  • 53 referrals
South Carolina OSHA issued 3,280 violations. By type there were:
  • 2,643 serious violations

  • 631 other-than-serious violations

  • 5 repeat violations

  • 1 willful violation
Adjusted penalties were $697,983 and penalties collected during the fiscal year totaled $558,822.

3K Construction: On March 1, 2008, South Carolina OSHA conducted a fatality investigation at a jobsite where an employee fell 17 feet through an unprotected skylight. The employer returned to the jobsite to complete the roofing work on March 3, 2008. On the same day, another employee fell through a skylight and suffered serious injuries. South Carolina OSHA issued citations to 3K Construction for violations involving the fatality and the other fall-related injury. The investigation resulted in one willful and two serious violations. The willful violation was issued because the employer did not provide covers, guardrails, or other means of fall protection for employees working on a roof with unprotected skylights.

Hexavalent chromium: Ten health enforcement inspections were conducted involving hexavalent chromium; five inspections in the plating industry and five involving workers who were welding stainless steel in other industries. In the plating-industry inspections there were no detectable overexposures to hexavalent chromium; however, one company had employees exposed to hexavalent chromium above the action level. In the other inspections, two detected overexposures to hexavalent chromium. South Carolina OSHA is recording all exposure data and plans to use it to help identify which work-related tasks have the highest exposures to hexavalent chromium.

Outreach

Training: During the 2008 fiscal year, the South Carolina Office of Voluntary Programs (OVP) conducted 528 training classes for 13,855 employers and employees. OVP trainers also participated in workshops and outreach projects with other government agencies, including:
  • The South Carolina Municipal Association

  • The South Carolina Association of Counties

  • The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation

  • The South Carolina Timber Association

  • The South Carolina Forestry Association
OVP staff participated on the Overhead Power Line Alliance, the South Carolina Hispanic Worker Safety Task Force, and the South Carolina Residential Home Builders Association Alliance. OVP staff also reached out to high schools; they visited three schools and taught more than 1,000 students about general workplace safety, bloodborne pathogens, and workplace violence.

OVP conducted four OSHA 10-hour General Industry courses and two OSHA 10-hour construction courses. Regional training sessions continue to be conducted quarterly throughout the state.

SHARP and VPP: Three SHARP sites were approved this fiscal year, bringing the total to six. Ply Gem Siding Group (formerly Alcoa Home Products) is the latest SHARP site to be certified. There were 14 Palmetto Star VPP three year re-evaluations conducted and all sites received recommendations for continued participation in the program. Now there are 46 Palmetto Star sites.

Alliances

South Carolina OSHA continues an alliance with the Home Builders Association of South Carolina, which has helped reach residential builders and contractors. Training on OSHA standards is also required for HBA members.
 
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