Occupational Health.
§ 130A-455. Reportable diseases, illnesses, and injuries.
The Commission shall adopt rules establishing a list of serious and preventable occupational injuries that occur while working on a farm, and serious and preventable occupational diseases and illnesses to be reported to the Department. Occupational diseases and illnesses are defined as those diseases and illnesses which result from exposure to a health hazard in the workplace. The Commission shall adopt rules establishing the specific information to be submitted when making a report required by this Article, time limits for reporting, and the form of the report. The rules adopted by the Commission shall avoid duplication of reporting and minimize the cost to the physicians, medical facilities, laboratories, or other persons reporting under this act. (1993, c. 486.)
§ 130A-456. Physicians to report.
A physician licensed to practice medicine in this State who treats a person for an occupational injury that occurred while working on a farm or an occupational disease, illness, declared by the Commission to be reportable, shall report the information required by the Commission to the Department. (1993, c. 486.)
§ 130A-457. Medical facilities to report.
A medical facility in which there is a patient who has an occupational injury that occurred while working on a farm, or an occupational disease, illness, declared by the Commission to be reportable, may report information specified by the Commission to the Department. (1993, c. 486.)
§ 130A-458. Persons in charge of laboratories to report.
A person in charge of a laboratory providing diagnostic service in this State shall report to the Department laboratory findings related to occupational diseases and illnesses for which laboratory reporting is required by the Commission. (1993, c. 486, s. 1; 2001-28, s. 3.)
§ 130A-459. Immunity of persons who report.
A person who in good faith makes a report pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall be immune from any civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of making the report. (1993, c. 486.)
§ 130A-460. Report to Department of Labor.
(a) Each report to the Department pursuant to the Article shall be evaluated for its potential indication of an exposure to a health hazard. If an on-site visit is deemed necessary, a copy of the report for work sites for which the Department of Labor has jurisdiction for the enforcement of occupational health laws shall be forwarded to the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor and the Department may exchange information regarding specific workplaces and conditions and such information shall retain the same confidentiality provided by the originating agency.
(b) If the Department of Labor determines that an on-site visit is necessary for enforcement purposes, the Department of Labor shall inform the Department within 30 days of the receipt of the report, and a representative of the Department may participate in the visit. The Department shall not contact or otherwise notify any employer of a pending investigation prior to the determination by the Department of Labor regarding the necessity of an on-site visit and shall not give advance notice of a visit if one is necessary.
(c) Subsection (b) shall not apply to inspections conducted for the Industrial Commission pursuant to G.S. 97-76 and shall not affect the allocation of responsibilities set forth in G.S. 74-24.4(c). (1993, c. 486.)
§§ 130A-461 through 130A-464. Reserved for future codification purposes.