OSHA bloodborne pathogens rule

29 CFR 1910.1030 regulates employers, not households. It is also the source of the phrase "OSHA certified", which describes something that does not exist.

What the standard requires

A written exposure control plan identifying which tasks carry exposure and what controls apply, accessible to employees and reviewed at least annually.

Universal precautions — all human blood and certain body fluids treated as infectious, not only the ones that look risky.

Engineering and work practice controls before relying on equipment: handwashing facilities, sharps containers, and prohibitions on practices that generate splashing or aerosols.

Protective equipment at the employer’s expense, provided, cleaned, repaired and replaced at no cost to the employee.

Hepatitis B vaccination offered free within 10 working days of assignment. Declining is recorded on a specific form; the offer is mandatory.

Post-exposure evaluation and follow-up, confidential and employer-funded.

Labels and signs on containers of regulated waste.

Training at assignment and annually, from someone who can answer questions.

Why “OSHA certified” is not a thing

OSHA sets obligations for employers. It does not certify companies, issues no certificate, and maintains no approved-contractor list. When a company uses the phrase, the useful response is not to argue but to ask for the documents that would exist if they were compliant: the written exposure control plan, and the most recent training records. Both are real, and a compliant company will not find the request strange.

If you are the worker rather than the customer

Everything above is owed to you, not offered to you. An employer charging you for your own protective equipment is not compliant. Ask to see the exposure control plan before you accept a role.

State plans

Around half of US states run their own OSHA-approved plans, which must be at least as effective as the federal standard and are sometimes stricter.