American OH&S Principles

Factual Questions
1

greetings all,

I have a quick question on the principles of Occupational Health and Safety in America.

Is there a specified time (for specific industries) that must be allowed between the end of one shift and the start of another?

For example, I spoke to a lady friend the other day who said that in her current employment as a shift boss/team leader (in the hospitality industry), her boss expects her to close the store at 11pm (but then she has to go bank the day’s takings which could take an extra 15-20 minutes) and be back to open the store the following morning at 8am. If one considers that she has to then drive home (a one-way trip of 25-45 minutes depending on weather conditions) and back again the next morning, this could amount to a less than comfortable (or safe) break between shifts.

Is her employer failing in their ‘Duty of Care’ requirements? I’m an emergency services worker myself (and Australian law is that I must have an eight hour break, exclusive of travel time, between shifts). I’m curious as to how it works over there…

(if you’ve got any links to sites, I’d appreciate that too)

Regards to all and thanks in advance,

nostromo

2

I am not aware of any industry specific standards, but there are standards for specific jobs. For example, airline pilots and long haul truckers have to meet specified break periods between shifts of certain lengths. You can find the OSHA homepage at: www.osha.gov

3

hi Doc,

thanks for dropping by and also for the link - should keep me busy reading and researching for a while.

All the best,

nostromo