CHAPTER 20ADDRESSING LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND OTHER COMPLIANCE OBLIGATIONS
THEA DUNMIRE
ENLAR Compliance Services, 3665 E Bay Dr. #204C, Largo, FL, 33771
One of the important considerations for organizations in establishing their safety and health programs is ensuring that they are in compliance with applicable legal requirements. An organization's compliance obligations can arise as a result of statutory law, as set out in laws and regulations, or common law. Of increasing importance are the legal obligations that can arise when organizations make a commitment to conform to the requirements set out in national or international consensus standards.
Most countries have a mix of both statutory and common laws. This chapter is focused primarily on understanding compliance obligations in the United States. Although the laws and legal framework may be similar in other countries, the specific laws and the resulting compliance obligations may be very different.
Given the fact‐specific nature of many laws, the evolution of the law over time, and the differences in legal requirements from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, no attempt is made in this chapter to define specific legal obligations. Instead, the goals of this chapter are to provide an overview of the US legal and regulatory framework, to discuss some of the legal issues associated with occupational health and safety data management, and to highlight some specific circumstances when safety and health professionals may want to consider ...