Document J3G8d040Qq3Oz425KVVQgxDBr

1910.20 (a) STANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 1 1910.20--ACCESS TO EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE * AND MEDICAL RECORDS (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to pro vide employees and their designated representa tives 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 detec tion, treatment and prevention of occupational disease. Each employer is responsible for assur ing compliance with this section, but the activi ties 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 med ical records. Except as expressly provided, nothing in this section is intended to affect exist ing legal and ethical obligations concerning the maintenance and confidentiality of employee medical information, the duty to diclose informa tion to a patientemployee or any other aspect of the medical-care relationship, or affect existing legal obligations concerning the protection of trade secret information. [45 F.R. 54333, August 15. I960.] (b) Scop* and application. (1) This section applies to each general indus try, maritime, and construction employer who makes, maintains, contracts for, or has access to employee exposure or medical records, or analyses thereof, pertaining to employees ex posed to toxic substances or harmful physical agents. (2) This section applies to all employee expo sure and medical records, and analyses thereof, of employees exposed to toxic substances or harmful physical agents, whether or not the records are related to specific occupational safety and health standards. (3) This section applies to all employee expo sure and medical records, and analyses thereof, made or maintained in any manner, including on an in-house or contractual (e.g., fee-forservice) basis. Each employer shall assure that the preservation and access requirements of this section are complied with regardless of the manner in which records are made or main tained. (c) Definitions. (1) "Access" means the right and opportunity to examine and copy. (2) "Analysis using exposure or medical records" means any compilation of data, or any research, statistical or other study based at least in part on information collected from indi vidual employee exposure or medical records or information collected from health insurance claims records, provided that either the analy sis has been reported to the employer or no fur ther work is currently being done by the per son responsible for preparing the analysis. (3) "Designated representative" means any individual or organization to whom an employee gives written authorization to exer cise a right of access. For the purposes of access to employee exposure records and ana lyses using exposure or medical records, a rec ognized 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 concerning employee exposure to toxic substances or harmful physical agents: (I) environmental (workplace) monitoring or measuring, including personal, area, grab, wipe, or other form of sampling, as well as 19I0.2WeX5X 30 Ounce 25 D0 A 044391 CONFIDENTIAL