Work Safety Agency Regains Some Oversight Within Puerto Rico

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration will regain enforcement authority over private-sector workers on federal properties in Puerto Rico after the agency reached a new agreement with officials from the territory.

The change comes after Puerto Rico’s Assistant Secretary of Labor, Nelvin Rodriguez-Sanchez, notified OSHA in a letter that the state plan cannot oversee those employees, according to a notice published Thursday in the Federal Register.

There are 29 OSHA-approved state plans, which consist of 22 plans that cover both private and public sector employees and seven plans that cover only public workers.

OSH state plans are OSHA-approved workplace ...