New Hampshire Labor Laws Directly Impact Safety Reporting and Company Committees

by Kim Caserta, Consulting Safety Officer, Safety Partners, Inc.
Denise Aronson, President, Safety Partners, Inc.

Did you know that “failure to have a written safety plan, joint loss management committee, and to biennially file a safety summary” is one of the top-ten New Hampshire Labor Law violations? Is your firm in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations surrounding these requirements? Failure to comply can result in costly administrative penalties.

The New Hampshire Department of Labor is charged with administering and enforcing certain laws such as RSA 281-A:64 Safety Programs and Joint Loss Management Committees and the rules adopted pursuant to this law, Chapter Lab 600 Safety Programs and Joint Loss Management Committees and Chapter Lab 1400 Safety and Health of Employees. These laws are in place to protect worker safety and health.

Developing Safety Programs

Under RSA 281-A:64, employers with ten or more employees must have a written safety program. This written safety program identifies the responsibilities of management, employees, supervisors, and the safety coordinator. It also identifies the responsibilities of the joint loss management committee and ultimately outlines how your firm deals with its health and safety concerns. Information about safety programs can be found at http://www.labor.state.nu.us/safety_training_programs.asp.

Establishing and Running Joint Loss Management Committees

Under RSA 281-A:64, all New Hampshire employers with five or more full, part-time, or seasonal employees must form a working Joint Loss Management Committee. It is a safety committee, comprised of management and employee representatives who work together to control workplace hazards.

The New Hampshire Administrative Rules Chapter Lab 600 (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/state_agencies/lab600.html), Safety Programs and Joint Loss Management Committees, in more detail, describes the purposes and the responsibilities of the joint loss management committee. Recommendations on how to form and run a Joint Loss Management Committee at your organization are found at http://www.labor.state.nh.us/safety_training_joint_loss.asp.

Some duties and responsibilities of the joint loss management committee include meeting at least quarterly, keeping minutes and making them available to all employees, reviewing incidents and accidents, and establishing specific safety programs. Chapter Lab 1400 (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/state_agencies/lab1400.html) Safety and Health of Employees describes in detail recognized workplace hazards and the employers responsibility towards them.

Filing Safety Summary Forms

Safety Summary Forms must be filed biennially (every two years), on January 1, by New Hampshire employers with 10 or more employees. If you filed in 2008, you will need to file for 2010. This form is completed and filed to show compliance with the following rules and regulations: RSA 281-A:64 Safety Programs and Joint Loss Management Committees, Chapter Lab 600 Safety Programs and Joint Loss Management Committees, and Chapter Lab 1400 Safety and Health of Employees. The Safety Summary Form is accessible through the DOL website at http://www.labor.state.nh.us/safety_training_forms.asp or by contacting the New Hampshire Department of Labor. When answering the 10 question Safety Summary Form, you show compliance with this law and its associated rules.

Safety Partners’ comprehensive written safety programs meet many of the requirements of the New Hampshire rules and laws discussed in this article. For more information on these rules and laws visit www.labor.state.nh.us. To learn about Safety Partners, Inc. programs, visit www.safetypartnersinc.com.

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Safety Partners efficiently and cost-effectively implements hands-on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs at emerging life sciences companies. Safety Partners tailors its programs to each client's unique science, processes, procedures, and facilities, while reducing program implementation burdens. Its expertise is unmatched, clocking over 85,000 hours at over 120 New England life sciences firms.