The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Police power of the Commonwealth; the Act's title: 'To provide for the safety and to protect the health and morals of persons while employed... and fixing penalties'
- Issued
- 1937-05-18 May 18, 1937
- Effective
- Standing law throughout 2020 and 2021 (read as 1937-05-18)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since May 18, 1937 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Workplace rulesStanding duty
- Addressees
- employers; owners, agents and lessees of every establishment where persons are employed (except farms and private dwellings), including Commonwealth, political-subdivision and school-district workplaces
- Character
- workplace duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Pennsylvania DUT-PA
Operative words
All establishments shall be so constructed, equipped, arranged, operated, and conducted as to provide reasonable and adequate protection for the life, limb, health, safety, and morals of all persons employed therein.
Penalty
sec. 15: first offense, summary conviction and a fine of $25 to $100 (30 days' imprisonment in default); second offense, $50 to $200 (60 days in default); third offense, a misdemeanor; sec. 13: L&I inspection, entry and corrective instructions
What it required
Bound every 'establishment' ('any room, building or place within this Commonwealth where persons are employed or permitted to work for compensation of any kind') to be 'operated, and conducted' so as to provide 'reasonable and adequate protection for the life, limb, health, safety, and morals of all persons employed therein,' with the Department of Labor and Industry empowered 'to enter any room, building, or place where labor is employed, and to issue the necessary instructions... to correct violations.'
Retrieval notePennsylvania has no State OSHA plan for private employment; the federal general duty clause, 29 U.S.C. sec. 654(a)(1), governs private workplaces and is held in the library as DUT-AL-009, DUT-AR-011 and DUT-CO-009 (cited, not re-saved). The General Safety Law is the Commonwealth's own standing statute and the Worker Safety Order (PA-008) named the Department of Labor and Industry among the agencies enforcing it. The COVID-19 content of the safe-workplace duty came from the Secretary of Health's orders (PA-007, PA-008, PA-016, PA-020, PA-022) and the CDC guidance they incorporated; the statute is the vessel, the orders filled it.