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OSHA PLANS TO IMPROVE CONTROLS OVER LETTERS OF INTERPRETATION

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As a result of a Letter of Interpretation (LI) on the OSHA website which was perceived to sanction Government intrusion into private homes, the OIG received a congressional request to provide an analysis and evaluation of the LI, which is now known as the Home Workplace Letter. We determined that OSHA needed stronger controls over the process of issuing LIs to ensure that such letters would not infer or communicate new policy to recipients or to the public. OSHA generally agreed with our recommendations and stated its intentions to improve its internal procedures.

On November 15, 1999, OSHA issued a Letter of Interpretation (LI) to respond to an employer's inquiry of August 21, 1997. The employer asked for guidance on applying OSHA standards to employees working at home. This LI, the "Home Workplace Letter," was posted on OSHA's website and, in the words of the Secretary of Labor, "caused widespread confusion and unintended consequences." As a result, the interpretation was withdrawn. Congress was concerned over the guidance and clearance from DOL with regard to the events that led to the drafting and issuance of the LI.

Our audit of OSHA's process for issuing LIs disclosed stronger processing controls are necessary to ensure such letters would not infer or communicate new policy to recipients or to the public. Among the control weaknesses we noted:

There were no written procedures that specifically governed preparation and processing of LIs.
Conflicting language in OSHA Directives clouded the policy role of LIs. The language conflict could risk misuse of LIs to establish policy.
There were no common rules to guide all staff to consistently distinguish responses that provide interpretations of the Act (Occupational Safety and Health Act), as distinct from interpretations on applying standards to specific work environments, or interpretations representing a significant expansion of existing policies.
Not all documents and comments were shared among all those responsible for clearing the LI. As a result, observations, concerns and suggestions provided to the individual principally responsible for processing the LI were not fully considered in the clearance process.
No one involved in the clearance process for the Home Workplace Letter was specifically expected to evaluate the policy ramifications of the letter taken as a whole.

We recommended that OSHA:

Develop written procedures that specifically govern preparation and processing of LIs in the Directorate of Compliance Programs.
Clarify language in OSHA Directives that cloud the policy role of LIs.
Establish common rules to guide all staff to consistently distinguish responses that provide interpretations of the OSH Act, interpretations on applying standards to specific work environments, or interpretations representing a significant expansion of existing policies.
In consultation with the SOL, eliminate inordinate clearance delays and ensure all documents and comments germane to the LI response be shared among all those responsible for clearing the document.
Ensure that key staff in the clearance process is sensitive to the policy implications of interpretations made in LIs, and that executive-level management is consulted as appropriate.

In response to our draft report, OSHA stated its intentions to improve internal procedures with respect to policy pronouncements and interpretations as a result of the experience with the Home Workplace Letter and our audit recommendations. Further, the Agency stated it agreed with our findings in principle and will strive to incorporate them into revised agency procedures which are currently being developed.

OSHA's response adequately addresses and resolves our audit recommendations. We can close these recommendations after monitoring and reviewing implementation of the Agency's corrective action plan.
(Report No. 05-00-005-10-001, issued April 27, 2000)

[ Full Report PDF ] 33 pp. {1244 K}

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