Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry

Minnesota OSHA Compliance -- Residential fall protection



New residential fall-protection guidelines

Residential roofingEffective as of June 16, 2011, Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) no longer accepts the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction and enforces 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13). Employers are no longer able to use the alternative fall-protection measures found in the rescinded 1999 Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction.

The guidelines were rescinded for the following reasons.

  • They were never intended to be a permanent resolution.

  • Conventional fall-protection is safe and feasible for the vast majority of residential construction activities.

  • Federal OSHA received recommendations to rescind the interim directive.

  • The residential fall-protection requirements have always been established in Subpart M at 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13). The new policy directive implements the standard as it was originally intended.

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data (BLS), fatalities from falls are the leading cause of workplace deaths in construction.

Table 1. Leading causes of construction fatalities -- U.S. BLS
Fatalities 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Falls 394 433 447 332 277
Struck by 130 120 106 108 79
Electrocutions 107 126 108 89 88
Caught in/between 111 96 98 92 34


Table 2. Fatalities from falls in residential construction -- U.S. BLS
Fatalities 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Total falls 71 62 55 40 42
Falls from roofs 24 21 19 11 17

Effective as of June 16, 2011, employers must follow 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13), which states each employee engaged in residential construction activities six feet (1.8 m) or more above lower levels shall be protected by a guardrail system, safety net system or personal fall-arrest system unless another provision in paragraph (b) of this section provides for an alternate fall-protection measure.

For further information contact Minnesota OSHA at osha.compliance@state.mn.us, (651) 284-5050 or 1-877-470-6742.

Additional resources

Bullet-point graphic View Minnesota OSHA's presentation -- Residential fall protection

Bullet-point graphic Federal OSHA requirements -- Residential fall protection (Note:  This change became effective in Minnesota on June 16, 2011.)

   
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