OSHA abatement certification, in plain English

Who it applies to

Employers who receive a citation for a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1903.19(a)). The rule's stated purpose is to make sure cited violations are actually corrected ("abated").

Certify within 10 calendar days of each abatement date

Within 10 calendar days after the abatement date, the employer must certify to OSHA that each cited violation has been abated (1903.19(c)(1)).

For an uncontested citation item, the abatement date is the latest of: the date in the citation; a date approved by OSHA (or set in litigation) after a petition to modify the abatement date; or a date set in an informal settlement agreement (1903.19(b)(2)). For a contested item, it comes from the final order or a formal settlement. So if a settlement changed your dates, those dates are the ones that count.

One exception: no certification is needed for an item if the compliance officer, during the on-site part of the inspection, saw the violation corrected within 24 hours of identifying it and noted that in the citation (1903.19(c)(2)).

What the certification has to say

For each cited violation: the date and method of abatement, and a statement that affected employees and their representatives have been informed of the abatement (1903.19(c)(3)). Every submission under the rule also includes (1903.19(h)(1)):

• the employer's name and address;
• the inspection number;
• the citation and item numbers it covers;
• a statement that the information submitted is accurate; and
• the signature of the employer or the employer's authorized representative.

When you also send documents

Along with the certification, the employer sends documents showing abatement is complete for each willful or repeat violation, and for any serious violation where the citation says documents are required (1903.19(d)(1)). Documents may include evidence of the purchase or repair of equipment, photos or video of the abatement, or other written records (1903.19(d)(2)).

Telling your employees

• Post a copy of each document you send OSHA, or a summary of it, near the place where the violation occurred (1903.19(g)(1)). If posting there would not reach the affected employees (for example, mobile work crews), post it where they will see it or communicate it fully another way ((g)(2)).
• Do it at the same time as, or before, you send the information to OSHA, and leave it up, unaltered and uncovered, for three working days after you send it ((g)(4)).
• Tell employees and their representatives they may examine and copy the abatement documents. They ask within 3 working days of the notice; you comply within 5 working days of the request ((g)(3)).

Abatement plans and progress reports (only if your citation says so)

When the time allowed for abatement is more than 90 calendar days, OSHA may require an abatement plan for each cited violation other than an other-than-serious one; the citation will say so. The plan is due within 25 calendar days from the final order date and lists the steps and schedule to abatement and, where necessary, how employees are protected in the meantime (1903.19(e)).

An employer required to submit a plan may also have to send progress reports. The citation says which items, when the first report is due (no sooner than 30 calendar days after the plan) and whether more follow. Each report gives, in a sentence if possible, the action taken and its date (1903.19(f)). Appendix B has a sample form.

Sending it

Send it to the OSHA Area Office that issued the citation, at the address printed on the citation. For mail, the postmark date is the date of submission; for anything else, it is the date OSHA receives it (1903.19(h)(2)). Keep a copy of everything you send and the date you sent it.

For serious, repeat and willful violations involving movable equipment, the rule also requires a warning tag or a copy of the citation on the equipment's operating controls or the cited component, kept there until the violation is abated and the abatement documents are submitted, or the equipment leaves service or your control (1903.19(i)).

OSHA's sample letter format

Appendix A to 1903.19 gives a sample abatement-certification letter (nonmandatory). Its layout, with the employee statement from 1903.19(c)(3) added:

See your own packet, drafted from the public record

CiteClock fills in this format from OSHA's public record for your inspection: the letter, a page per cited item, the employee notice and where to send it. You confirm each item and sign it yourself. Looking is free.

You can also do all of this yourself with OSHA's sample letter. Search by company name if you don't have the inspection number handy.

Plain-English summary of 29 CFR 1903.19, not legal advice; the official text governs. Independent software. Not affiliated with OSHA. Not legal advice.