Treasury Directive 71-05
Date: December 30, 2008
SUBJECT: Departmental Safety and Health Programs
1. PURPOSE. This directive provides policy and assigns responsibilities for comprehensive programs to create and maintain a safe and healthy work environment within the Department of the Treasury.
2. SCOPE. This directive applies to all bureaus and offices within the Department of the Treasury, including the Office of the Inspector General and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The authority of the Inspectors General is set forth in Section 3 of the Inspector General Act and the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act, and defined in Treasury Order 114-01 (IG) and Treasury Order 115-01 (TIGTA), or successor orders. The provisions of this directive shall not be construed to interfere with that authority.
3. POLICY. It is the policy of the Department of the Treasury that Departmental Offices and bureaus provide each employee, visitor and contractor a safe and healthy environment by maintaining comprehensive and effective safety and health programs that meet and exceed the requirements of Section 19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended; Executive Order (EO) 12196, as amended; 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1960, as amended; and applicable parts of 29 CFR 1910, as amended.
4. DEFINITIONS.
a. Bureau means all Treasury bureaus, the Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Departmental Offices.
b. Bureau heads means all Treasury bureau heads,
the Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration,
and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Departmental Operations for the
Departmental Offices.
5. RESPONSIBILITIES.
a. The Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer serves as the Designated Agency Safety and Health Official (DASHO) and shall assist the Secretary in establishing the Department’s occupational safety and health policies and programs with an adequate organization to implement these programs at all operational levels.
b. The Heads of Bureaus, as it relates to their respective bureaus, are responsible for:
1) furnishing a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause serious physical harm;
2) establishing and maintaining effective and
comprehensive occupational safety and health programs that are consistent with
the standards promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,
EO 12196, and 29
3) serving as or appointing a Bureau Designated
Safety and Health Official (DSHO) to manage and ensure the effective
implementation of safety and health programs that comply with the Occupational
Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970, EO 12196, 29
4) committing bureau management at all levels to support safety and health programs, prevent losses, and personally monitoring the effectiveness of their programs;
5) providing sufficient professional safety and health staff and other resources (including appropriate training) to assist management in carrying out program responsibilities;
6) ensuring that inspections and audits of workplaces and operations by technically competent safety and health professionals are conducted at least annually and employee representatives are given the opportunity to be present;
7) establishing a system for employees to report unsafe and/or unhealthy work conditions and ensuring the prompt identification and abatement of unsafe and/or unhealthful working conditions and/or operations;
8) ensuring adequate communication and information, such as safety and health notices, are disseminated to employees;
9) ensuring information systems, including the Safety and Health Information Management System (SHIMS), and any other records of property, tort claims, business interruption, injury, and illness losses are promptly and accurately reported, maintained, analyzed, and receive management action to reduce losses;
10) ensuring that accidental fatalities, injuries, occupational illnesses and property losses in their bureaus are investigated and analyzed in accordance with Departmental Directives, and that appropriate measures are taken to control risks and reduce the consequences and probability of recurrence;
11) establishing procedures to ensure that
employees are not subject to restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination,
or reprisal for exercising their rights under EO 12196 or 29
12) establishing adequate safety and health programs, processes, and tracking systems, with education and training for employees at all levels including management, supervisors, and professional development education for full time and collateral duty safety and health staff. Training shall include a description of the roles and responsibilities for all employees including management and supervisors;
13) establishing safety and health committees/councils and/or similar mechanisms to assist management in carrying out their safety and health programs;
14) requiring active participation in the Department of the Treasury Safety and Health Council, and encouraging and supporting active participation in interagency Federal safety and health councils, and other beneficial safety/health organizations;
15) ensuring that the performance plans for supervisors, managers, and employees include or incorporate meeting the requirements of the safety and health programs of the Department and their respective bureau and offices;
16) submitting timely annual reports on bureau performance to the Office of Environment, Safety and Health, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Departmental Offices, for inclusion in the rollup Department report to the Secretary of Labor;
17) assisting and collaborating with Human Resources and/or management responsible for Workers Compensation to establish a light duty program and encourage employees to return to work as soon as possible;
18) ensuring the bureau has a vehicle safety program, including training, seat belt usage, and accident investigation; and
19) ensuring the bureau has a workplace violence program to protect employees from abuse, including education on warnings signs of potential problems.
c. The Director of the Office of Environment, Safety and Health (OESH), Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Departmental Offices, serves as the principal safety, health, and environmental officer of the Department leading a team of senior safety, health, and environmental professionals, and is responsible for:
1) providing advice and counsel to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Departmental Offices Operations, Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer, the Secretary, and other Department officials to assist them in carrying out their safety and health duties and responsibilities;
2) reviewing safety and health codes, standards,
and regulations, either proposed or enacted, which may impact the Department,
to assist officials in responding to the regulations in a manner consistent
with the Department's mission and policy, the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970, EO 12196, 29
3) conducting safety and health programs management evaluations consisting of the following: bureau and office self-evaluation report audits, on-site program and/or facility operations reviews, accident, injury, and/or illness data analyses, and other survey instruments, reports, or information from the bureaus and offices, as may be necessary to provide top management with accurate evaluations;
4) researching, developing, formulating, proposing, and assisting management in implementing Departmental policy, programs, initiatives, and other management actions to promote safer, healthier work environments;
5) representing the Department to national regulations, codes, and standards making organizations, other Federal agencies, and private-sector national and international safety and health organizations for the benefit of the Department, Federal government, and the American public we serve;
6) chairing the Treasury Safety and Health Council, directly or through delegation; and
7) submitting to the Secretary of Labor the annual Safety and Health report for the Department of Treasury.
d. Bureau Safety and Health Programs Management Officers serve as the principal safety, health, and/or environmental officer of their bureau leading a team of senior safety, health, and environmental professionals, and are responsible for:
1) providing advice and counsel to their
respective bureau head, DSHO, and other management officials to assist them in
carrying out their safety and health duties and responsibilities as required by
the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, EO 12196, 29
2) assisting bureau heads and DSHOs in developing annual management action plans for safety and health programs' continuous improvement. Bureau management action plans should show comparisons of the most recent fiscal year property, tort claim, and business interruption losses, as well as injury rates, lost production days and workers' compensation costs, with the previous two years. Management initiatives and direct involvement to reduce these losses should be cited and program(s) performance milestones documented;
3) conducting safety and health programs management evaluations consisting of the following: bureau and office unit self-evaluation report audits, on-site program and/or facility operations reviews, incident, injury, and/or illness data analyses (e.g., SHIMS), and other survey instruments, reports, or information from the units as may be necessary to provide management with accurate evaluations;
4) researching, developing, formulating, proposing, and assisting management in implementing bureau policy, programs, initiatives, and other management actions to promote safer, healthier, work environments;
5) representing the bureau to national regulations, codes, and standards-making organizations, other Federal agencies, and private-sector national and international safety and health organizations for the benefit of the bureau or office, Department, Federal government, and American public we serve; and
6) serving on the Treasury Safety and Health Council, and providing the OESH with any reports, information, assistance, or other cooperation as may be necessary.
e. Supervisors are responsible for:
1) operating safety and health programs as
required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, EO 12196, 29
2) assuring that all employees receive training in safe, healthful practices, and the safeguards associated with their work;
3) encouraging
employee performance that demonstrates positive safety and health behavior, and
reward outstanding performance in these areas.
Methods to accomplish this may include quality circles, one-to-one
contacts, continuous inspections, employee coaching, and other communications
to correct unsafe acts;
4) assuring incidents are promptly and accurately recorded in the SHIMS database, and periodically share information on workplace injuries and illnesses with employees and other supervisors to reinforce safety and health programming efforts;
5) determining and addressing the causes of incidents by promptly conducting investigations to find root and contributing causes and providing adequate resources and supervision;
6) conducting frequent work environment and operations reviews and encouraging employee reporting to discover hazards, (including participation in the annual safety audits) and taking prompt action to safeguard employees, visitors, property, and operations; and
7) working collaboratively with the bureau Human Resources offices to establish light duty assignments and promote return to work efforts.
f. Department of the Treasury Employees must:
1) be responsible for their own actions, perform their duties in a safe and healthy manner, and encourage others to do likewise;
2) comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Treasury safety and health regulations and requirements;
3) immediately report to their supervisors or other appropriate personnel all injuries, illnesses, hazards, unsafe acts, property damage, tort claims, and business interruption;
4) promptly input information into SHIMS when there is an injury, illness, or near-miss incident that potentially could have resulted in an injury, and frequently review information on workplace injuries and illnesses, as well as other informational sources to promote health and safety for themselves, coworkers, and the American public we serve; and
5) take required safety and health training and discuss any questions or comments with their supervisors.
g. The Treasury Safety and Health Council is comprised of bureau and office safety and health program management officers and other managerial and/or technical officials. Its purpose is to assist senior-level management in the development and coordination of Department-wide safety and health programs through the OESH, whose staff chair the Council meetings.
6. AUTHORITIES.
a. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Section 19 and 24, as amended (29 USC 668 and 673).
1) 29 CFR Part 1904, “Recordkeeping.”
2) 29
3) 29
4) 29
b. 5 USC 7902, "Safety Programs."
c. EO 12196, "Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Federal Employees," dated February 26, 1980, as amended.
d. EO 13143, “Increasing Seatbelt Usage in the
e. "Record Keeping and Reporting Guidelines for Federal Agencies," as published in OSHA Instruction FAP 1.3, Appendix B, dated May 17, 1996.
f. Treasury Order 101-05, “Reporting Relationships and Supervision of Officials, Offices and Bureaus, and Delegation of Certain Authority in the Department of the Treasury.”
7. CANCELLATION. Treasury Directive 71-05, "Departmental Safety and Health Program," dated August 19, 2002, is superseded.
8. OFFICE OF PRIMARY INTEREST. The Environment, Safety and Health Division, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Departmental Offices Operations, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer.
/S/
Peter B. McCarthy
Assistant Secretary for Management
and Chief Financial Officer