29 CFR 1910.38: OSHA Emergency Action Plan Requirements

Regulatory citation: 29 CFR 1910.38**

The OSHA Emergency Action Plan (29 CFR 1910.38)

An Emergency Action Plan (EAP), governed by 29 CFR 1910.38, is a written document outlining the procedures employers and employees must follow in the event of a workplace emergency, such as a fire, chemical release, or other event requiring evacuation or a defined emergency response. While not every employer is required to have a written EAP, many are required either by this specific standard or by other OSHA standards that reference it, such as certain process safety or hazardous materials regulations.

When a Written EAP Is Required

Employers with 10 or fewer employees may communicate their emergency action plan orally rather than in writing, though many choose to document it regardless. Larger employers, and those subject to specific OSHA standards requiring an EAP (such as certain chemical handling or process safety standards), must maintain a written plan.

Required Elements of an Emergency Action Plan

1. Emergency Reporting Procedures

Clear procedures for how employees should report a fire or other emergency, including specific contact methods and responsible personnel.

2. Evacuation Procedures and Routes

Detailed evacuation procedures, including designated escape routes and assembly areas, communicated clearly to all employees.

3. Procedures for Employees Who Remain Behind

Some operations require certain employees to perform critical shutdown procedures before evacuating; the plan must specify these roles and procedures.

4. Employee Accounting Procedures

A method for accounting for all employees after an evacuation has been completed, ensuring no one remains unaccounted for in the affected area.

5. Rescue and Medical Duties

If any employees are assigned rescue or medical response duties, their specific responsibilities must be clearly outlined.

6. Names and Titles of Plan Contacts

The plan must identify individuals employees can contact for more information about the plan or clarification of their duties.

Training Requirements

Employers must review the Emergency Action Plan with each employee, when the plan is first developed, whenever an employee's responsibilities under the plan change, and whenever the plan itself is changed.

Common Compliance Mistakes

Outdated Evacuation Routes

As facilities are renovated or reconfigured, evacuation routes and assembly points are sometimes not updated to reflect the new layout, creating confusion during an actual emergency.

No Clear Accounting Procedure

Many plans lack a clear, specific method for accounting for employees post-evacuation, which is critical for ensuring no one is left inside during a fire or other hazard.

Failure to Train New Hires Promptly

New employees are sometimes not briefed on the EAP until well after their start date, leaving a gap during which they wouldn't know proper emergency procedures.

Plans Not Updated After Facility Changes

Expansions, new equipment installations, or department relocations can all affect evacuation routes and procedures, but plans are often not revisited after these changes.

Example: Emergency Action Plan in Practice

A distribution center develops a written Emergency Action Plan identifying two primary evacuation routes from the warehouse floor, a designated outdoor assembly area, and a specific employee accounting procedure using badge scan data captured at the assembly point. Shift supervisors are assigned responsibility for confirming all employees on their shift are accounted for and reporting any missing personnel immediately to the on-site safety coordinator. When the facility expands with a new mezzanine storage area, the plan is updated to include an additional evacuation route and revised assembly area capacity, and all employees receive updated training before the new area becomes operational.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must be included in an OSHA-compliant Emergency Action Plan?

Under 29 CFR 1910.38, a compliant Emergency Action Plan must include several specific elements: procedures for reporting a fire or other emergency, procedures for emergency evacuation including type of evacuation and designated escape route assignments, procedures for employees who must remain behind to perform critical operations before evacuating, procedures to account for all employees after an evacuation has been completed, procedures for employees performing rescue or medical duties, and the names or job titles of individuals who can be contacted for further information or clarification about the plan. The plan should be tailored to the specific facility, reflecting its actual layout, hazards, and operations, rather than relying on a generic template that doesn't accurately capture real evacuation routes or emergency contacts. Because the plan is only useful if employees actually understand and can follow it during a real emergency, clarity and specificity matter more than simply satisfying the minimum written requirements.

Do all employers need a written Emergency Action Plan?

Not every employer is required to maintain a written Emergency Action Plan. Employers with 10 or fewer employees are permitted to communicate their plan orally to all employees, rather than maintaining a written document, under 29 CFR 1910.38. However, this exception applies only to the general Emergency Action Plan requirement itself; other OSHA standards may independently require a written plan regardless of employee count, particularly for employers handling hazardous chemicals or operating under certain process safety management requirements. Even when a written plan isn't strictly required, many small employers choose to document their plan anyway, since a clear written reference reduces confusion during an actual emergency and provides a useful training and onboarding tool for new employees, regardless of the minimum regulatory threshold.

How often should employees be trained on the Emergency Action Plan?

Employers must review the Emergency Action Plan with each employee covered by the plan at three specific points: when the plan is first developed and the employee is initially assigned to a job involving it, whenever the employee's responsibilities under the plan change, and whenever the plan itself is modified in a way that affects the employee's role or the overall procedures. While OSHA doesn't mandate a fixed annual retraining schedule the way some other standards do, many employers choose to conduct periodic refresher training and evacuation drills, often annually, to reinforce the plan and identify any gaps or confusion before a real emergency occurs. Given how quickly facility layouts, staffing, and operations can change, treating the plan as a living document that's revisited regularly, rather than a one-time onboarding item, significantly improves its real-world effectiveness.

What's the difference between an Emergency Action Plan and a Fire Prevention Plan?

While closely related and often developed together, an Emergency Action Plan and a Fire Prevention Plan serve different purposes under OSHA's standards. The Emergency Action Plan, governed by 29 CFR 1910.38, focuses on what employees should do during an emergency, covering evacuation procedures, reporting protocols, and employee accounting after the fact. The Fire Prevention Plan, governed by a separate but related standard (29 CFR 1910.39), focuses instead on preventing fires before they occur, covering topics like housekeeping practices to control fuel source hazards, procedures for controlling ignition sources, and maintenance of fire suppression equipment. Employers required to maintain a Fire Prevention Plan must also identify employees responsible for maintaining specific fire prevention equipment and controlling fuel hazards. Many employers combine both plans into a single comprehensive safety document, since they cover complementary aspects of the same overall fire and emergency risk, but they address distinct regulatory requirements and shouldn't be treated as interchangeable.