Michigan OSHA Stops Covering Indian Tribes
OSHA has approved a change to the state of Michigan’s occupational safety and health state plan to exclude coverage of establishments on Indian reservations which are owned or operated by employers who are enrolled members of Indian tribes. Under the terms of a September 28, 2004 addendum to the September 24, 1973 Operational Status Agreement between OSHA and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), jurisdiction and enforcement have been relinquished back to federal OSHA for conducting safety and health inspections and interventions within the borders of all Indian reservations for employers who are “enrolled members of Indian reservations”, i.e., members of Indian tribes. Non-member employers within the reservations and member employers located outside the territorial borders of Indian reservations remain under MIOSHA jurisdiction. Accordingly, OSHA amended its regulations to reflect this change in the level of federal enforcement. The effective date was October 12, 2011. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-10-12/html/2011-26262.htm