Skip to content
The COVID Project
  1. Library
  2. Standing duties: Alabama
  3. DUT-AL-009

Ex. DUT-AL-009 Standing duty Primary source read

29 U.S.C. § 654(a)(1)-(2) (the general duty clause)

Duties of employers and employees

Congress of the United States (Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, § 5) · United States (Alabama is a federal-OSHA State without a State plan) (Federal)

Open exhibit (PDF, 125 KB)Source (opens in a new tab)
The COVID Project

The record

Jurisdiction
United States (Alabama is a federal-OSHA State without a State plan) · Alabama
Level
Federal
Authority
Pub. L. 91-596, § 5, 84 Stat. 1593 (Dec. 29, 1970), codified at 29 U.S.C. § 654
Issued
1970-12-29 Dec. 29, 1970
Effective
standing (read as 1970-12-29)
End
standing (read as 2021-09-30)
In force
Standing since Dec. 29, 1970 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
Quarters
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
Limitation types
Workplace rulesStanding duty
Addressees
  • employers (every employer under 29 U.S.C. § 652(5)); employees (§ 654(b))
Character
workplace duty
Collection
Standing duties: Alabama DUT-AL

Operative words

(a) Each employer— (1) shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees; (2) shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this chapter.

Penalty

civil penalties under 29 U.S.C. § 666 (willful or repeated violations up to the inflation-adjusted maximum; serious violations); criminal penalties for willful violations causing death

What it required

Every Alabama employer engaged in a business affecting commerce had to keep its workplace free from the recognized hazard of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and comply with OSHA standards (respiratory protection, PPE, sanitation, recordkeeping), enforced by federal OSHA under the Interim and Updated Enforcement Response Plans and the National Emphasis Program (Exs. AGY-FED-LABOR-IMMIGRATION-020, -024, -025, -026, -087) against the measures described in OSHA 3990 and 'Protecting Workers' (Exs. AGY-FED-LABOR-IMMIGRATION-029, -030).

Retrieval note

Filed in the Alabama duties folder because Alabama has no State OSHA plan (29 U.S.C. § 667 plan States exclude Alabama); the federal duty is the workplace-safety duty that bound Alabama employers directly and is shared by every federal-OSHA State. The OSHA Healthcare ETS, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.502 (June 21, 2021), applied in Alabama health-care settings in 2021 Q3 (see the Federal library). The Alabama-specific companion is Ala. Code § 25-1-1 (Ex. DUT-AL-010).

A record of The COVID Project. The instrument's text is the source's; the summary fields are The COVID Project's reading of it. Not legal advice.