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Text from the OSHA Logging Standard Amendment issued
        September 8, 1995 in the Federal Register Text from the OSHA Logging Standard Amendment issued September 8, 1995 in the Federal Register

Paragraph (d)(6)(iv) -- End of Workshift Accounting of Employees

The final rule requires that the employer account for each employee at the end of each workshift. OSHA was requested to provide additional clarification of this requirement in the revised compliance directive.

First, the employer need not personally conduct the actual end of shift accounting of each employee. The employer may delegate this task, but the employer remains ultimately responsible under the standard for assuring that employees are not inadvertently left in the woods, especially an employee who may be injured.

Second, this provision does not require employers to prohibit employees from remaining at the work site after the end of the work shift to engage in personal activities, such as hunting, camping, or cutting fire wood for personal use. Rather, OSHA's intent was to assure that no employee, particularly an injured employee, be inadvertently left in the woods without assistance. The rulemaking record includes several reports of accidents in which employees were not discovered in a timely fashion and died (Ex. 4-64, 26A). The revised compliance directive also makes clear that after the workshift has ended and the employer has ascertained that the employee is done with work, including overtime work, and is safely accounted for, the final rule does not prohibit the employer from allowing the employee to remain in the area for personal reasons. OSHA is revising the compliance directive to reflect this.

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