OSHA 29 CFR 1910.141 — Vermin Control in Correctional Workplaces

Citation

29 CFR §1910.141, Sanitation (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; Title 29, Chapter XVII, Part 1910, Subpart J — General Environmental Controls). Read on the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations on September 24, 2026.

What It Says (Verbatim)

§1910.141(a)(1) Scope:

“This section applies to permanent places of employment.”

§1910.141(a)(5) Vermin control:

“Every enclosed workplace shall be so constructed, equipped, and maintained, so far as reasonably practicable, as to prevent the entrance or harborage of rodents, insects, and other vermin. A continuing and effective extermination program shall be instituted where their presence is detected.”

What It Means in Plain Language

Paragraph (a)(5) has two parts, and they work differently.

The first sentence is a construction and maintenance duty. An enclosed workplace is to be built, equipped, and kept so that rodents, insects, and other vermin cannot get in or find harborage. The duty is qualified: “so far as reasonably practicable.”

The second sentence is a trigger. It is not qualified. Once vermin are detected, “a continuing and effective extermination program shall be instituted.” The words are continuing and effective: a one-time treatment after a complaint is neither.

The section reaches a correctional facility as a workplace: the officers, food service staff, maintenance crews, and medical staff who work there. It says nothing about the people held there; conditions for people in custody are addressed by other authorities.

Who It Applies To

Paragraph (a)(1) states the scope: “permanent places of employment.” A jail, prison, or detention facility is a permanent place of employment for its staff.

Whether a given facility’s employer is subject to OSHA enforcement, a state occupational safety and health plan, or neither depends on who the employer is:

• County and state employers, nationally. OSHA’s State Plans page says, for states without a State Plan (Alabama, for example): “State and local government workers are not covered by federal OSHA.” Public employees are covered where a State Plan covers them. OSHA’s State Plans page: “There are currently 22 State Plans covering both private sector and state and local government workers, and seven State Plans covering only state and local government workers.”
• County and state employers, in Utah. OSHA: “Utah operates an OSHA-approved State Plan covering most private sector workers and all state and local government workers.” Utah’s rule R614-1-4.A.3 incorporates “29 CFR 1910.6 and 1910.21 through the end of part 1910, of the July 1, 2025, edition.” Section 1910.141 falls inside that range by number, so paragraph (a)(5) is Utah law for a county jail or state prison as a workplace, enforced by the Utah Occupational Safety and Health Division (UOSH).
• Federal employers. OSHA’s Utah State Plan page: “UOSH does not cover federal government employers including USPS.” How OSHA requirements reach a federal detention facility’s own staff is not established on this page.
• Privately operated facilities are private sector workplaces, covered by federal OSHA or by a State Plan that covers the private sector.

The applicability statements above were read from OSHA’s State Plans pages and from Utah Admin. Code R614-1 (Date of Last Change May 22, 2026) on September 24, 2026.

Documentation Evidence

The regulation does not prescribe a record. Records that show each element of paragraph (a)(5) was met:

• Findings of rodent or insect activity, with dates and locations (the “presence is detected” trigger)
• The extermination program instituted in response, and the date it began
• Service records showing the program continued after the first treatment
• Follow-up findings showing whether the program was effective
• Work orders for structural repairs that remove entry points or harborage

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence for the quoted text. Both paragraphs were read verbatim from the eCFR on September 24, 2026. HIGH confidence for Utah public-employer coverage: OSHA’s Utah State Plan page and Utah Admin. Code R614-1-4.A.3 were both read on September 24, 2026. The step from “1910.21 through the end of part 1910” to Section 1910.141 is numeric, and is stated as such. Coverage of federal employers is not asserted.