1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to occupational health and safety; 
  1.3             establishing standards for employer activities to 
  1.4             reduce occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens 
  1.5             through sharps injuries; proposing coding for new law 
  1.6             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 182. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [182.6555] [REDUCING OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES TO 
  1.9   BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS THROUGH SHARPS INJURIES.] 
  1.10     (a) Employers must comply with Code of Federal Regulations, 
  1.11  title 29, section 1910.1030, to eliminate or minimize employee 
  1.12  exposure to bloodborne pathogens through sharps injuries.  
  1.13     (b) Written exposure control plans prepared by employers 
  1.14  must be reviewed at least annually and whenever necessary to 
  1.15  reflect new or modified tasks and procedures which affect 
  1.16  occupational exposures and to reflect new or revised employee 
  1.17  positions with occupational exposure.  The requirement to review 
  1.18  and update the plan means that the plan must reflect changes in 
  1.19  technology that eliminate or reduce exposure to bloodborne 
  1.20  pathogens.  The exposure control plan must document 
  1.21  consideration and implementation of appropriate commercially 
  1.22  available and effective engineering controls, for example, 
  1.23  needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury 
  1.24  protection, designed to eliminate or minimize exposure. 
  1.25     (c) A safety committee established under section 182.676 
  1.26  must make recommendations for the use of effective engineering 
  2.1   controls.  One-half of the members of the safety committee must 
  2.2   be employee representatives of job classifications that would 
  2.3   use or may reasonably anticipate encountering any device in the 
  2.4   category being evaluated in the performance of the employee's 
  2.5   duties.  The employer may establish a subcommittee of the safety 
  2.6   committee to meet the requirements of this paragraph.  One-half 
  2.7   of the members of this subcommittee must be employee 
  2.8   representatives of job classifications that would use or may 
  2.9   reasonably anticipate encountering any device in the category 
  2.10  being evaluated in the performance of the employee's duties.  
  2.11  Employers not required to establish a safety committee under 
  2.12  section 182.676 must involve their employees in the evaluation 
  2.13  of effective engineering controls. 
  2.14     (d) This section may not prohibit the use of a prefilled 
  2.15  syringe that is approved by the federal Food and Drug 
  2.16  Administration.  This paragraph expires May 1, 2003.  
  2.17     (e) Employers must establish internal procedures to 
  2.18  document the route of exposure and the circumstances under which 
  2.19  an exposure incident occurred.  This information should include: 
  2.20     (1) engineering controls in use at the time; 
  2.21     (2) work practices followed; 
  2.22     (3) a description and brand name of the device in use; 
  2.23     (4) protective equipment or clothing that was used at the 
  2.24  time of the exposure incident; 
  2.25     (5) location; 
  2.26     (6) procedure being performed when the incident occurred; 
  2.27     (7) the employee's training; and 
  2.28     (8) the injured employee's opinion about whether any other 
  2.29  engineering, administrative, or work practice control could have 
  2.30  prevented the injury and the basis for that opinion. 
  2.31     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.32     Section 1 is effective 60 days following final enactment.