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Are your restaurants in compliance? Major changes take effect Friday for business first aid kits

The regulations change this Friday on the bare minimum number and type of medical supplies that all U.S. workplaces must have under the law.

June 15, 2016 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

On June 17, minimum requirements for business first aid kit contents change substantially for the first time in seven years when the new standard — which was actually published one year ago — takes full effect. One industry supplier of such kits said that the new rule will knock thousands of businesses, including restaurants, out of compliance with the American National Standards Institute rules for the medical supplies each company must have on site under U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, which are now effective.

Though OSHA names American National Standard Institute kits as compliant, this will no longer be the case for ANSI kits that were purchased to comply with 2009 standards, according to news releases from several companies which make safety equipment for the U.S. market. Adding to the confusion, many states have their own standards that either echo the federal minimums or set OSHA regulations as the low bar for required medical supplies on site. 

Some businesses will need 145 new items

Depending on the type of business and number of employees, restaurateurs and managers will need to augment their current first aid kits with anywhere from a few dozen to 145 new items. Businesses that qualify to use class A ANSI first aid kits will need 22 more items, while Class B kits and cabinets will require 145 additional items. 

Companies that make workplace kits are geared up to meet the demand for the new requirements with refill and upgrade packs that can help businesses comply in the most cost-effective way possible. 

"Our customers purchase our kits specifically to assure their regulatory compliance," said First-Aid-Product.com Representative Chad Balash. "Knowing so many would want to replace their kits or upgrade, our team scrambled to design easy ANSI upgrade packs and whole-kit replacement content packs." 

The company is one of many supplying potentially lifesaving kits to businesses across the U.S. These suppliers typically can provide a kit or cabinet of first aid supplies to fit the requirements of a specific company based on the products it produces and the number of people it employs.  

OSHA first aid expert Matthew Henry said compliance is critical for businesses, since the regulations call for just the bare minimum of supplies that any business needs to respond to a medical emergency on its premises. 

"While specific industries such as welding, construction and logging have their own regulatory requirements, all safety regulations, from Federal OSHA to each OSHA-approved state plan, refer to the ANSI Z308.1 standard requirements for compliance," Henry said. "If it were my business or a client I was advising, I would certainly opt for a $19 upgrade pack over risking thousands of dollars in fines."

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story that was published last week did not fully clarify that the standard, which took effect last Friday, was first published one year ago on June 17, 2015. As is often the case with new federal regulations, businesses were given a full year from the date of the standard's first publication to obtain items required under the new regulation. Again, the ANSI standard for the regulation is ANSI Z308.1; the full text of the standard must be purchased online at the ANSI website. 

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.