The Board will serve to evaluate and address any needed improvements in the protection of our Commonwealth employees at the macro policy level. The Board will use methods such as evaluation of existing health and safety systems, and injury and illness statistics to create recommendations on effective strategies to improve state worker health and safety, including centralized worker protection policies or regulations, needed resource allocations, and/or agency health and safety system improvement measures.
The Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Board
The Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Board (formerly under Executive Order 511 the Massachusetts Employee Safety and Health Advisory Committee) is a 13-member board, consisting of the following persons or their designees:
- Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development
- Personnel Administrator/Chief Human Resources Officer
- Director of the Department of Labor Standards
- Secretary of Administration and Finance
- Director of the Office of Employee Relations
- Commissioner of the Department of Public Health
- Director of the Department of Industrial Accidents
- Four representatives from labor unions representing employees of the Commonwealth
- One representative from a community-based health and safety advocacy organization
- One member of the faculty of the Department of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
The Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Board was established in 2009 by Governor Patrick’s Executive Order 511. This order applied only to executive branch state agencies, and required these employers to maintain injury records, and establish a safety committee. In 2018 M.G.L. c. 149 §6 ½ was amended to include all public sector employers. The original 13 member board was expanded to 19 members to provide representation for municipal employers.
Safety and Health Regulation
454 CMR 25.00 requires that all Commonwealth employees are provided with a safe and healthful work environment free from recognized hazards. The regulation incorporates OSHA regulations and is enforced by the Department of Labor Standards’ Workplace Safety and Health Program.
Safety bulletins, template programs, and self-audit checklists are available at the Department of Labor Standards website: https://www.mass.gov/workplace-safety-and-health-program-wshp
Contact the Department of Labor Standards
Email safepublicworkplacemailbox@mass.gov or call (508) 616-0461.