5 U.S.C. § 7902
Section 7902 · Safety programs
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 9 court decisions — leading case Matthews v. Commissioner (1989)
Most recently applied in Nasuti v. U.S. Secretary of State John Forbes Kerry (January 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) For the purpose of this section—
(1) “employee” means an employee as defined by section 8101 of this title; and
(2) “agency” means an agency in any branch of the Government of the United States (not including the United States Postal Service), including an instrumentality wholly owned by the United States, and the government of the District of Columbia.
(b) The Secretary of Labor shall carry out a safety program under section 941(b)(1) of title 33 covering the employment of each employee of an agency.
(c) The President may—
(1) establish by Executive order a safety council composed of representatives of the agencies and of labor organizations representing employees to serve as an advisory body to the Secretary in furtherance of the safety program carried out by the Secretary under subsection (b) of this section; and
(2) undertake such other measures as he considers proper to prevent injuries and accidents to employees of the agencies.
(d) The head of each agency shall develop and support organized safety promotion to reduce accidents and injuries among employees of his agency, encourage safe practices, and eliminate work hazards and health risks.
(e) Each agency shall—
(1) keep a record of injuries and accidents to its employees whether or not they result in loss of time or in the payment or furnishing of benefits; and
(2) make such statistical or other reports on such forms as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Statutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 784 (less (a)). Sept. 16, 1916, ch. 458, §33 (less (a)); added Dec. 22, 1944, ch. 664, 58 Stat. 887. Oct. 14, 1949, ch. 691, §209, 63 Stat. 865. Subsection (a) is added on authority of former sections 790(b) and 794 (1st sentence), which are carried into section 8101.
The words “Secretary of Labor” and “Secretary” are substituted for “Administrator” on authority of section 1 of 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 19, eff. May 24, 1950, 64 Stat. 1271.
Subsection (b) is restated for clarity. The words “under section 941(b)(1) of title 33” are substituted for “The provisions of section 941 of title 33 shall, insofar as not inapplicable, apply” on authority of section 941(g)(2) of title 33. The reference to “a safety program” is based in part on the words “in furtherance of the safety program carried out by the Secretary pursuant to this section” in former section 784(c).
In subsection (d), the word “foster” is omitted as included in “develop and support”. The words “and reduce compensable injuries” are omitted as unnecessary.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Amendments
1998—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 105–241 inserted “(not including the United States Postal Service)” after “Government of the United States”.
1970—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 91–596 included representatives of labor organizations representing employees.
Executive Order No. 10990
Ex. Ord. No. 10990, Feb. 5, 1962, 27 F.R. 1065, which provided for the establishment of a Federal Safety Council, was superseded by Ex. Ord. No. 11612, July 26, 1971, 36 F.R. 13891, formerly set out below.
Executive Order No. 11612
Ex. Ord. No. 11612, July 26, 1971, 36 F.R. 13891, which related to occupational safety and health programs for federal employees, was superseded by Ex. Ord. 11807, Sept. 28, 1974, 39 F.R. 35559, formerly set out below.
Executive Order No. 11807
Ex. Ord. No. 11807, Sept. 28, 1974, 39 F.R. 35559, which related to occupational safety and health programs for federal employees and continued the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12196, Feb. 26, 1980, 45 F.R. 12769, set out below.
Ex. Ord. No. 12196. Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Federal Employees
Ex. Ord. No. 12196, Feb. 26, 1980, 45 F.R. 12769, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 12223, June 30, 1980, 45 F.R. 45235; Ex. Ord. No. 12608, Sept. 9, 1987, 52 F.R. 34617, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, including Section 7902(c) of Title 5 of the United States Code and in accord with Section 19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as amended (29 U.S.C 668), it is ordered: