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C
A APPENDIXPPENDIX C

1910.1020 - Access To Employee Exposure And Medical Records.

(a) Purpose.

The purpose of this section is to provide employees and their designated representatives 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 detection,
treatment, and prevention of occupational disease. Each employer is responsible for assuring
compliance with this section, but the activities 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 medical records. Except as expressly provided, nothing in
this section is intended to affect existing legal and ethical obligations concerning the maintenance
and confidentiality of employee medical information, the duty to disclose information to a
patient/employee or any other aspect of the medical-care relationship, or affect existing legal
obligations concerning the protection of trade secret information.

(b) Scope and application.

(1) This section applies to each general industry, maritime, and construction employer who
makes, maintains, contracts for, or has access to employee exposure or medical records, or
analyses thereof, pertaining to employees exposed to toxic substances or harmful physical agents.

(2) This section applies to all employee exposure and medical records, and analyses thereof, of
such employees, whether or not the records are mandated by specific occupational safety and
health standards.

(3) This section applies to all employee exposure and medical records, and analyses thereof, made
or maintained in any manner, including on an in-house or contractual (e.g., fee-for-service) 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 maintained.

(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 statistical
study based at least in part on information collected from individual employee exposure or
medical records or information collected from health insurance claims records, provided that
either the analysis has been reported to the employer or no further work is currently being done
by the person responsible for preparing the analysis.

(3) Designated representative means any individual or organization to whom an employee gives
written authorization to exercise a right of access. For the purposes of access to employee
exposure records and analyses using exposure or medical records, a recognized or certified
collective bargaining agent shall be treated automatically as a designated representative without
regard to written employee authorization.

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