Access to medical and exposure records

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Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division ## ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE & MEDICAL RECORDS Z ## (g) Employee information. - (1) Upon an employee's first entering into employment, and at least annually thereafter, each employer shall inform current employees covered by this section of the following: - (i) The existence, location, and availability of any records covered by this section; - (ii) The person responsible for maintaining and providing access to records; and - (iii) Each employee's rights of access to these records. - (2) Each employer shall keep a copy of this section and its appendices, and make copies readily available, upon request, to employees. The employer shall also distribute to current employees any informational materials concerning this section which are made available to the employer by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. ## (h) Transfer of records. - (1) Whenever an employer is ceasing to do business, the employer shall transfer all records subject to this section to the successor employer. The successor employer shall receive and maintain these records. - (2) Whenever an employer is ceasing to do business and there is no successor employer to receive and maintain the records subject to this standard, the employer shall notify affected current employees of their rights of access to records at least three (3) months prior to the cessation of the employer's business. - (i) Appendices. The information contained in appendices A and B to this section is not intended, by itself, to create any additional obligations not otherwise imposed by this section nor detract from any existing obligation. [61 FR 5507, Feb. 13, 1996; 61 FR 9227, March 7, 1996; 61 FR [redacted postal code], June 20, 1996] Stat. Auth.: ORS 654.025(2) and 656.726(4). Stats. Implemented: ORS 654.001 through 654.295. Hist: APD Admin. Order 3-1989, f. 3/1/89, ef. 3/1/89. OR-OSHA Admin. Order 4-1997, f. 4/2/…

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Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division ## ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE & MEDICAL RECORDS - (14) Trade secret means any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, or information or compilation of information that is used in an employer's business and that gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it. ## (d) Preservation of records. - (1) Unless a specific occupational safety and health standard provides a different period of time, each employer shall assure the preservation and retention of records as follows: - (i) Employee medical records. The medical record for each employee shall be preserved and maintained for at least the duration of employment plus thirty (30) years, except that the following types of records need not be retained for any specified period: - (A) Health insurance claims records maintained separately from the employer's medical program and its records, - (B) First aid records (not including medical histories) of one-time treatment and subsequent observation of minor scratches, cuts, burns, splinters, and the like which do not involve medical treatment, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to another job, if made on-site by a non-physician and if maintained separately from the employer's medical program and its records, and - (C) The medical records of employees who have worked for less than (1) year for the employer need not be retained beyond the term of employment if they are provided to the employee upon the termination of employment. - (ii) Employee exposure records. Each employee exposure record shall be preserved and maintained for at least thirty (30) years, except that: - (A) Background data to environmental (workplace) monitoring or measuring, such as laboratory reports and worksheets, need only be retained for one (1) year so long as the sampling results, the collection methodology (sampling plan), a descri…

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## ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE & MEDICAL RECORDS - (C) Biological monitoring results designated as exposure records by specific occupational safety and health standards shall be preserved and maintained as required by the specific standard. - (iii) Analyses using exposure or medical records. Each analysis using exposure or medical records shall be preserved and maintained for at least thirty (30) years. - (2) Nothing in this section is intended to mandate the form, manner, or process by which an employer preserves a record so long as the information contained in the record is preserved and retrievable, except that chest X-ray films shall be preserved in their original state. ## (e) Access to records. ## (1) General. - (i) Whenever an employee or designated representative requests access to a record, the employer shall assure that access is provided in a reasonable time, place, and manner. If the employer cannot reasonably provide access to the record within fifteen (15) working days, the employer shall within the fifteen (15) working days apprise the employee or designated representative requesting the record of the reason for the delay and the earliest date when the record can be made available. - (ii) The employer may require of the requester only such information as should be readily known to the requester and which may be necessary to locate or identify the records being requested (e.g. dates and locations where the employee worked during the time period in question). - (iii) Whenever an employee or designated representative requests a copy of a record, the employer shall assure that either: - (A) A copy of the record is provided without cost to the employee or representative, - (B) The necessary mechanical copying facilities (e.g., photocopying) are made available without cost to the employee or representative for copying the record, or - (C) The record is loaned to the employee or representative for a reasonable time to enable a copy to be made. - (iv…

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Oregon Administrative Rules Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division ## ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE & MEDICAL RECORDS Z - (A) An employer shall not charge for an initial request for a copy of new information that has been added to a record which was previously provided; and - (B) An employer shall not charge for an initial request by a recognized or certified collective bargaining agent for a copy of an employee exposure record or an analysis using exposure or medical records. - (vi) Nothing in this section is intended to preclude employees and collective bargaining agents from collectively bargaining to obtain access to information in addition to that available under this section. ## (2) Employee and designated representative access. - (i) Employee exposure records. - (A) Except as limited by paragraph (f) of this section, each employer shall, upon request, assure the access to each employee and designated representative to employee exposure records relevant to the employee. For the purpose of this section, an exposure record relevant to the employee consists of: - (1) A record which measures or monitors the amount of a toxic substance or harmful physical agent to which the employee is or has been exposed; - (2) In the absence of such directly relevant records, such records of other employees with past or present job duties or working conditions related to or similar to those of the employee to the extent necessary to reasonably indicate the amount and nature of the toxic substances or harmful physical agents to which the employee is or has been subjected, and - (3) Exposure records to the extent necessary to reasonably indicate the amount and nature of the toxic substances or harmful physical agents at workplaces or under working conditions to which the employee is being assigned or transferred. - (B) Requests by designated representatives for unconsented access to employee exposure records shall be in writing and shall specify with reasonable part…

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## ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE & MEDICAL RECORDS ## SUBDIVISION Z ## TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ## §1910.1020 Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records. - (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide employees and their designated representatives a right of access to relevant exposure and medical records; and to provide representatives of the Assistant Secretary a right of access to these records in order to fulfill responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Access by employees, their representatives, and the Assistant Secretary is necessary to yield both direct and indirect improvements in the detection, treatment, and prevention of occupational disease. Each employer is responsible for assuring compliance with this section, but the activities involved in complying with the access to medical records provisions can be carried out, on behalf of the employer, by the physician or other health care personnel in charge of employee medical records. Except as expressly provided, nothing in this section is intended to affect existing legal and ethical obligations concerning the maintenance and confidentiality of employee medical information, the duty to disclose information to a patient/employee or any other aspect of the medical-care relationship, or affect existing legal obligations concerning the protection of trade secret information. ## (b) Scope and application. - (1) This section applies to each general industry, maritime, and construction employer who makes, maintains, contracts for, or has access to employee exposure or medical records, or analyses thereof, pertaining to employees exposed to toxic substances or harmful physical agents. - (2) This section applies to all employee exposure and medical records, and analyses thereof, of such employees, whether or not the records are mandated by specific occupational safety and health standards. - (3) This section applies to all employee exposure and medical recor…

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(6) ## ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE & MEDICAL RECORDS - (3) Designated representative means any individual or organization to whom an employee gives written authorization to exercise a right of access. For the purposes of access to employee exposure records and analyses using exposure or medical records, a recognized or certified collective bargaining agent shall be treated automatically as a designated representative without regard to written employee authorization. - (4) Employee means a current employee, a former employee, or an employee being assigned or transferred to work where there will be exposure to toxic substances or harmful physical agents. In the case of a deceased or legally incapacitated employee, the employee's legal representative may directly exercise all the employee's rights under this section. - (5) Employee exposure record means a record containing any of the following kinds of information: - (i) Environmental (workplace) monitoring or measuring of a toxic substance or harmful physical agent, including personal, area, grab, wipe, or other form of sampling, as well as related collection and analytical methodologies, calculations, and other background data relevant to interpretation of the results obtained; - (ii) Biological monitoring results which directly assess the absorption of a toxic substance or harmful physical agent by body systems (e.g., the level of a chemical in the blood, urine, breath, hair, fingernails, etc.) but not including results which assess the biological effect of a substance or agent or which assess an employee's use of alcohol or drugs; - (iii) Material safety data sheets indicating that the material may pose a hazard to human health; or - (iv) In the absence of the above, a chemical inventory or any other record which reveals where and when used and the identity (e.g., chemical, common, or trade name) of a toxic substance or harmful physical agent. - (i) Employee medical record means a record concerning the heal…