OSHA 29 CFR 1910.141(a)(5) — Vermin Control in Campus Workplaces

Citation

29 CFR §1910.141, Sanitation (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Read on the eCFR (Title 29 current through the September 9, 2026 issue) on September 24, 2026. Utah Admin. Code R614-1, General Provisions (Date of Last Change May 22, 2026), and Utah Code 34A-6-103 and 34A-6-204, read the same day.

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.”

Utah R614-1-4.A.3:

“3. 29 CFR 1910.6 and 1910.21 through the end of part 1910, of the July 1, 2025, edition, are incorporated by reference.”

Utah Code 34A-6-103(1)(f):

“(f) "Employer" means:

(i) the state;

(ii) a county, city, town, and school district in the state; and

(iii) a person, including a public utility, having one or more workers or operatives regularly employed in the same business, or in or about the same establishment, under any contract of hire.”

Utah Code 34A-6-204:

“The head of each state agency and each political subdivision of the state shall establish and maintain an occupational safety and health program equivalent to the program for other employments in the state. The commission may not assess monetary penalties against any state agency or political subdivision under Section 34A-6-307.”

What It Means in Plain Language

Paragraph (a)(5) has two parts. The first is a construction and maintenance duty, qualified by “so far as reasonably practicable.” The second is a trigger, and it is not qualified: once vermin are detected, “a continuing and effective extermination program shall be instituted.” The text does not define “continuing” or “effective”; records of repeat service and follow-up findings are what show both.

The section protects employees, not students or visitors. Where it applies, it reaches enclosed buildings that are permanent places of employment: offices, classrooms, laboratories, residence halls as workplaces for housing staff, kitchens, and shops. Federal OSHA does not cover state or local government employers; in Utah, coverage of state universities is the open question noted below.

In Utah, R614-1-4.A.3 incorporates Part 1910 from §1910.21 to the end, which includes §1910.141 by number. Utah Code 34A-6-103(1)(f) names “the state” and counties, cities, towns, and school districts as employers, and 34A-6-204 requires each state agency and political subdivision to run an equivalent program. The statute does not name state universities; whether a given institution is “the state” for this purpose is a legal question these texts do not answer, and this page does not answer it. Private universities are private employers.

Who It Applies To

Employers with permanent places of employment. On a campus, that is each enclosed building that is a permanent place of employment for a covered employer.

Documentation Evidence

• Reports of rodent or insect activity by building and date (the “presence is detected” trigger)
• The extermination program instituted in response, and when it began
• Service records showing the program continued
• Follow-up findings showing whether it was effective
• Work orders for repairs that close entry points and harborage

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence for the quoted text. The eCFR's version history shows no amendment to §1910.141 since 2017, so the text Utah incorporates at the July 1, 2025 edition is the text quoted. The step from “1910.21 through the end of part 1910” to §1910.141 is numeric and is stated as such. Utah Code 34A-6-104(2)(b), which excludes workplaces and employers not subject to the federal Act, is noted here and is not resolved by this page.