§ 1903.19 Abatement verification.

Purpose. OSHA's inspections are intended to result in the abatement of violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act). This section sets forth the procedures OSHA will use to ensure abatement. These procedures are tailored to the nature of the violation and the employer's abatement actions.

(a) Scope and application. This section applies to employers who receive a citation for a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

(b) Definitions—(1) Abatement means action by an employer to comply with a cited standard or regulation or to eliminate a recognized hazard identified by OSHA during an inspection.

(2) Abatement date means:

(i) For an uncontested citation item, the later of:

(A) The date in the citation for abatement of the violation;

(B) The date approved by OSHA or established in litigation as a result of a petition for modification of the abatement date (PMA); or

(C) The date established in a citation by an informal settlement agreement.

(ii) For a contested citation item for which the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has issued a final order affirming the violation, the later of:

(A) The date identified in the final order for abatement; or

(B) The date computed by adding the period allowed in the citation for abatement to the final order date;

(C) The date established by a formal settlement agreement.

(3) Affected employees means those employees who are exposed to the hazard(s) identified as violation(s) in a citation.

(4) Final order date means:

(i) For an uncontested citation item, the fifteenth working day after the employer's receipt of the citation;

(ii) For a contested citation item:

(A) The thirtieth day after the date on which a decision or order of a commission administrative law judge has been docketed with the commission, unless a member of the commission has directed review; or

(B) Where review has been directed, the thirtieth day after the date on which the Commission issues its decision or order disposing of all or pertinent part of a case; or

(C) The date on which a federal appeals court issues a decision affirming the violation in a case in which a final order of OSHRC has been stayed.

(5) Movable equipment means a hand-held or non-hand-held machine or device, powered or unpowered, that is used to do work and is moved within or between worksites.

(c) Abatement certification. (1) Within 10 calendar days after the abatement date, the employer must certify to OSHA (the Agency) that each cited violation has been abated, except as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.