OSHA’S ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES Though a number of OSHA’s enforcement initiatives may not technically be considered new for 2016, we can expect that OSHA will continue to increasingly issue citations under the General Duty Clause and the multi-employer worksite doctrine. We can also expect OSHA to continue to focus its attention on the training and … Continue reading “What To Expect From OSHA In 2016 And Beyond”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4 January 29, 2016, Washington, DC – Today the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released a safety video into the fatal April 17, 2013, fire and explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas, which resulted in 15 fatalities, more than 260 injuries, and widespread community damage. The deadly fire and explosion occurred when … Continue reading “U.S. Chemical Safety Board Releases New Safety Video, “Dangerously Close: Explosion in West, Texas,” Detailing Report Findings and Recommendations on 2013 Fatal West Fertilizer Company Explosion and Fire “
If your business operates in more than one location, you cannot ignore this case or its implications. Central Transport operates trucking terminals around the country. As a result of OSHA’s investigation of one facility in Massachusetts, the agency fined the company $330,800 for violations relating to powered industrial trucks. That, in and of itself, is … Continue reading “OSHA Can Now Cite Facilities It Hasn’t Visited – Administrative Law Judge Rules”
OSHA penalties are going up. EPA’s penalties are going up, too. However, while EPA penalties have been going up modestly every four years to take inflation into account, OSHA penalties have not increased in 25 years. Maximum OSHA penalties may jump as much as about 78 percent next year. For a provision quietly tucked … Continue reading “Substantial OSHA Penalty Increases Are Coming”
OSHA recently issued a final rule requiring construction employers to take steps to protect workers from confined space hazards. (Previously, confined space rules only applied to general industry.) Check out the infographic to learn the essentials of the new rule and what you need to do to comply. Confined Spaces in Construction: What Employers Need … Continue reading “Confined Spaces in Construction” – “What Employers Need To Know”
The last time OSHA updated the “It’s the Law” poster was in 2007. Now the agency is out with a new version that incorporates new injury reporting obligations for employers. Existing posters do not need to be replaced, but I'd suggest that you post the new one for your employees to be informed as well. … Continue reading New! “OSHA Updates Its Required Workplace Safety Poster”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b15PB5tdD4 In a new article from the International Business Times says the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has spent 8 months reviewing a proposal to strengthen rules on beryllium exposure, overshooting its deadline by more than 5 months. It is the latest delay in regulations that have been more than 13 years in the … Continue reading “OSHA’s Proposed New Beryllium Rule Remains in Limbo”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final confined spaces rule Friday to increase protections for construction workers. The rule, which is effective Aug. 3, 2015 affords construction workers laboring in confined spaces similar enhanced protections as manufacturing and general industry workers whose jobs take them into manholes, crawl spaces and several types of … Continue reading “OSHA Issues Final Confined Space Construction Rule Effective August 3, 2015”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed what it hopes will be non-controversial changes to its personal protective equipment (PPE) standards for eye and face protection in all covered industry sectors except agriculture. OSHA’s initiative is part of a multi-year agency undertaking to update consensus standards referenced in its rules. In a March 13 … Continue reading “OSHA Proposes Updates to Its Personal Protective Equipment Rules”
On October 20, OSHA issued a National Emphasis Program (NEP) for Primary Metal Industries. The NEP is intended to identify and reduce or eliminate worker exposure to harmful chemical and physical health hazards in facilities in those industries. OSHA says that individuals employed in the primary metal industries (smelting and refining of ferrous and nonferrous … Continue reading “OSHA Emphasizes Safety In The Primary Metal Industries”
On September 11, 2014, OSHA announced a final rule that alters requirements for reporting work-related fatalities and severe injuries and updates the list of injuries that are partially exempt from the injury and illness recordkeeping requirement. This BLR infographic provides an overview of the changes, which take effect on January 1, 2015. OSHA's Recordkeeping Rule … Continue reading “Infographic: OSHA’s Recordkeeping Rule Updates: What Employers Need to Know.”
Mid-year review of OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting Program. Under the Site-Specific Targeting 2014 Program (SST-14), OSHA has issued its annual inspection plan. After analyzing data collected from a survey of 80,000 establishments, the plan is directing enforcement resources to workplaces focusing on reducing injuries and illnesses. OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting program is one of their main programmed inspection … Continue reading Mid-Year Review of OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program.
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