8 AAC 61.135 - Petitions for modification of abatement period
(a) An employer may
file a petition for modification of an abatement date when that employer has
made a good faith effort to comply with the abatement requirements of a
citation, but the abatement has not been completed because of factors beyond
the employer's reasonable control.
(b) A petition for modification of an
abatement date must be in writing and must include the following information:
(1) all steps taken by the employer and the
dates of that action, in an effort to achieve compliance during the prescribed
abatement period;
(2) the specific
additional abatement time necessary in order to achieve compliance;
(3) the reasons the additional time is
necessary, including the unavailability of professional or technical personnel
or of materials and equipment, or because necessary construction or alteration
of facilities cannot be completed by the original abatement date;
(4) all available interim steps being taken
to safeguard the employees against the cited hazard during the abatement
period;
(5) a certification that a
copy of the petition has been posted and, if appropriate, served on the
authorized representative of affected employees, in accordance with (d) of this
section, and a certification of the date upon which the posting and service
were made.
(c) A
petition for modification of an abatement date must be filed with the director
no later than the close of the next working day following the date on which
abatement was originally required. A later-filed petition must be accompanied
by the employer's statement of exceptional circumstances explaining the
delay.
(d) At the time of filing
the petition with the director, a copy of the petition must be posted in a
conspicuous place where all affected employees will have notice of it or near
each location where the violation occurred. The petition must remain posted for
a period of 10 days. Where affected employees are represented by an authorized
representative, the representative must be served with a copy of the
petition.
(e) Affected employees or
their representatives may file an objection in writing to the petition with the
director. Failure to file an objection within 10 working days of the date of
posting of the petition or of service upon an authorized representative will
constitute a waiver of any further right to object to the petition.
(f) The commissioner or the commissioner's
authorized designee will not act on the petition until at least 15 working days
after the petition was filed with the director.
(g) If a petition is objected to by the
commissioner, the commissioner's authorized designee , or affected employees,
the petition, citation, and any objections will be forwarded to the board for a
hearing and decision on the petition within three days after the expiration of
the 15-day period set out in (f) of this section.
(h) An employer whose petition for
modification of an abatement date is heard by the board will have the burden of
proof to demonstrate that it has made a good-faith effort to comply with the
abatement requirements of the citation but that abatement has not been
completed because of factors beyond the employer's reasonable
control.
Notes
Authority:AS 18.60.020
AS 18.60.093
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.