§8. Rulemaking power
A. The secretary may make and prescribe reasonable rules and regulations for the use
of safety devices, safeguards, and other protective means for the prevention of accidents and
for protection against industrial or occupational diseases in places of employment. He may
issue general orders applicable to employers and employees, for the enforcement of such
rules and regulations, or other provisions of law.
B. Before any rule or regulation or general order is adopted, amended, or repealed,
a public hearing shall be given. Not less than ten days before the hearing, a notice thereof
shall be published in such newspapers as the secretary may prescribe. These rules and
regulations shall be promptly published in such manner as the secretary, with the approval
of the governor, shall deem desirable and shall take effect thirty days after their publication
or at such later time as the secretary may fix.
C. Rules, regulations, or general orders relating to the installation of safety devices
or other safeguards, and the use thereof, shall conform to approved practices in the industries
and places of employment involved, or in industries and places of employment similar in
character to those involved. The employer who is required to install a safety device,
safeguard, or other means of protection may use and employ any device that is recognized,
used, approved, and found effective by the best practice in the same or similar industry or
places of employment; and the employer shall not be limited to the selection and use of any
particular make or type of device or safeguard.
D. The publications herein directed or authorized shall be in newspapers published
in the parishes where the industries or places of employment affected are located.
Acts 2008, No. 743, §2, eff. July 1, 2008.