State Employee Safety Executive Order

DEVAL L. PATRICK TIMOTHY P. MURRAY

GOVERNOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

By His Excellency

DEVAL L. PATRICK
GOVERNOR

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 511

Establishing the Massachusetts
Employee Safety and Health Advisory Committee

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Executive Branch of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts to provide a healthy and safe
working environment for all of the Commonwealth's employees;

WHEREAS, workplace injuries can have devastating effects on
injured workers and their families, both personally and financially;

WHEREAS, workplace injuries can impede the ability of a state
agency or department to deliver services;

WHEREAS, it is the Commonwealth's policy to lead by example
in protecting employees in the workplace;

WHEREAS, ,the Commonwealth's Division of Occupational
Safety and Human Resources Division have taken steps to protect
the safety and health of the Commonwealth's employees through an
alliance with the Federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration and an education and training program focused on
safety and health issues;

WHEREAS, the initiatives that have been undertaken by the
Division of Occupational Safety and the Human Resources Division
are important steps toward enhancing the occupational safety and
health of the Commonwealth's employees; and

WHEREAS, further information is needed to determine what
additional measures are warranted to protect the safety and health of
the Commonwealth's employees.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Constitution, Part 2, c. 2, § I, Art. I, do hereby order as
follows:

Section 1. This Executive Order shall apply to all state
agencies in the Executive Branch. As used in this Order, "state
agencies" shall include all executive offices, boards, commissions,
agencies, departments, divisions, councils, bureaus, and offices, now
existing and hereafter established.

Section 2. Each secretariat shall forward to the
Commissioner of the Division of Occupational Safety and to the
Chief Human Resources Officer, on or before August 1,2009,
the name and contact information of a qualified person who shall
serve as the secretariat's Safety and Health Coordinator. The
Safety and Health Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring
the implementation of this Executive Order within the secretariat
and shall serve as the secretariat's point of contact for training
and other safety and health activities conducted by the Human
Resources Division andlor the Division of Occupational Safety.
The Division of Occupational Safety will conduct training for and
work with the Coordinators to assist 'them in carry out their
responsibilities.

Section 3. All state agencies shall keep records
concerning occupational injuries, illnesses, and deaths in
compliance with regulations promulgated under the Occupational
Safety and Health Act, as set forth in 29 CFR Part 1904, titled
Recording and Reporting Occupational lnjuries and Illnesses.

Section 4. By August 1,2009, the Human Resources
Division, in conjunction with the Division of Occupational Safety
and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Occupational Health Surveillance Program, shall establish a
process for collecting data recorded by state agencies pursuant
to this Executive Order. The Division of Occupational Safety
shall provide training to state agencies to facilitate their record-
keeping and reporting under 29 CFR Part 1904. The Human
Resources Division shall, to the extent permitted by law, make
data reported under this system available to the Division of
Occupational Safety and the Occupational Health Surveillance
Program, and to the Massachusetts Employee Safety and Health
Advisory Committee established under this Executive Order.

Section 5. All agencies that have workplaces selected by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics as sample units for participation in
the annual Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational
lnjuries and Illnesses shall comply with the survey's reporting
requirements relating to injury and illness data.

Section 6. The Massachusetts Employee Safety and
Health Advisory Committee is hereby established, and shall be
appointed by the Governor, to evaluate injury and illness data,
recommend training and implementa.tion of safety and health
measures, monitor the effectiveness of safety and health
programs, and determine where additional resources are needed
to protect the safety and health of the Commonwealth's
employees. The advisory committee shall have 13 members,
comprised as follows:

1.
the Director of Labor, or his or her designee, who shall
serve as the Co-Chairperson,
2.
the Chief Human Resources Officer, or his or her
designee, who shall serve as Co-Chairperson,
3.
the Commissioner of the Division of Occupational Safety,
4.
the Secretary of Administration and Finance, or his or her
designee,
5.
the Director of the Office of Employee Relations, or his or
her designee,
6.
the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, or
his or her designee,
7.
the Commissioner of the Department of Industrial
Accidents, or his or her designee,
8.
Four representatives from labor unions representing the
employees of the Commonwealth,
9.
One representative from a community-based health and
safety advocacy organization, and
10.
One member of the faculty of the Department of Work
Environment at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Section 7. By November 1, 2009, each secretariat and,
where appropriate, each department, agency, andlor division, in
conjunction with the applicable collective bargaining
representatives, shall establish joint labor-management health
and safety committees. Such committees shall, in conjunction
with the safety and health coordinators established pursuant to
this Order, survey safety and health hazards and existing safety
and health measures within the secretariat, department, agency
or division, evaluate the effectiveness of those measures and
make recorrlmendations to the Secretary on ways to improve
employees' safety and health. Each secretariat shall forwa,rd
committee survey results and recommendations to the
Massachusetts Employees Safety and Health Advisory
Committee established by this Order on or before October 1,
2010, and thereafter shall report annually to the Advisory
Committee on its progress toward enhancing the safety and
health of its employees.

Section 8. To the extent permitted by law, state agencies shall
make all reasonable efforts to furnish such information and
assistance as the Massachusetts Employee Safety and Health

Advisory Committee reasonably deems necessary to accomplish its
purposes.

Section 9. Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed
to require action inconsistent with any applicable state or federal law.

Section 10. This Executive Order shall continue in effect until
amended, superseded, or revoked by subsequent Executive Order.

Given at the Executive Chamber in
Boston this 235day of April in the
year of our Lord two thousand and nine
and of the Independence of the United States

two hundred and thirty-three

DEVAL L. PATRICK
----GOVERNOR
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN
Secretary of the Commonwealth

GOD SAVE THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS