Are State/Local Government Agencies Exempt From OSHA Regulations?

[ralph124c]

I wonder, becase I seem to see all kinds of shortcuts being done in projects run by my city DPW.
More importantly, safety regulations (which were enacted to save lives) seem to be ignored.
Last year, a Boston Fire Dept. Lt. was killed in an accident-he was thrown from his seat when the fire truch he was riding on crashed into a building (the brakes failed). It came out that the BFD trucks were not equipped with safety belts.
this seem snbelievable to me-so are such agencies exempt from Federal safety laws?

[KneadToKnow]

You’re going from extremely broad “OSHA laws” to extremely specific “firetrucks seem to be exempt from seat belt laws.” There may not be one answer to this.

[del]According to the text accompanying this video,[/del] MA fire fighters are currently exempt from seat belt laws.

Found a more explanatory link: http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/news/fullstory/newsid/106226

[Little_Nemo]

I worked for a government agency (New York state) and we were certainly subject to OSHA regulations.

[Duckster]

Most employees in the nation come under OSHA’s jurisdiction. OSHA covers private sector employers and employees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions either directly through Federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state program. Employees who work for state and local governments are not covered by federal OSHA, but have OSH Act protections if they work in those states that have an OSHA-approved state program. Four additional states and one U.S. territory have OSHA approved plans that cover public sector employees only. State run health and safety programs must be at least as effective as the Federal OSHA program. To find the contact information for the OSHA Federal or State Program office nearest you, see the Regional and Area Offices map

http://www.osha.gov/OSHA_FAQs.html

[KneadToKnow]

Good work, Duckster. I stand corrected on my “there may not be one answer” comment.

[Oglomott]

State of Florida employee here. We are indeed subject to OSHA regulations.

[Mr.Skinny]

I’m a Safety Engineer with the DoD. We are most certainly subject to OSHA law/regulation. However most service branches of the DoD have agency specific safety standards which are in fact, more stringent than OSHA standards.

Edited to add: I see on second look you were only interested in State/Local government, so perhaps my answer is of no help.