The right-to-know standard that trips up every industry.

HazCom compliance is a system with five interlocking components: a written program describing how your workplace meets the standard; a chemical inventory of every hazardous chemical present; safety data sheets for each, immediately accessible to employees during their shifts; GHS-format labels — pictograms, signal words, hazard statements — on containers; and effective training that covers the hazards, the protective measures, and how to read the labels and SDSs.

Citations cluster where the system breaks down in practice: the written program that was never customized from a template, the SDS binder missing a third of the inventory, the secondary container of degreaser someone poured into an unmarked spray bottle, and training records that end two hires ago.

The standard covers any employer with employees exposed to hazardous chemicals under normal conditions or foreseeable emergencies — which pulls in far more than chemical plants. Auto shops with brake cleaner, salons with peroxides, warehouses with battery-charging stations, construction crews with adhesives and fuels (via the identical §1926.59), and offices with industrial cleaning operations all carry HazCom obligations scaled to their exposures.

OSHA's 2024 amendments aligned the standard with GHS Revision 7, updating label requirements — including provisions for small containers — and refining hazard classifications, with phased compliance dates for chemical manufacturers and downstream users. If your written program predates the update, it's due for a review.

HazCom is long — its appendices on hazard classification and SDS format dwarf the standard itself. RegLogic's color-coded formatting keeps mandatory text and appendix guidance visually organized, plain-language search answers questions like "do I need an SDS for consumer products?" (a rich vein of interpretation letters), and same-day updates matter for a standard OSHA has actively amended.

The Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200), commonly called HazCom or the Right-to-Know law, requires employers to inform workers about chemical hazards. It mandates a written program, Safety Data Sheets for every hazardous chemical, GHS-compliant labels, and employee training.

HazCom is OSHA most-cited general industry standard — 2,546 violations in FY2025. Most citations target the written program, SDS accessibility, and training documentation. It applies to every employer with hazardous chemicals, which is effectively every employer.

In 2012, OSHA aligned HazCom with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). This changed SDS format from 8-section MSDS to 16-section SDS, introduced pictograms and signal words, and standardized hazard statements. RegLogic presents the current standard with all post-GHS amendments reflected same-day.