Total Articles: 43
MSHA/OSHA Report (January 2012)
Mine Safety Disclosures Required in SEC Reports; OSHA Issues I2P2 White Paper and Moves Forward with Small Business Review.
OSHA Announces New Focus Areas
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently announced three new focus areas targeting hazards in certain specified work environments. These include: winter storm months, chemical facilities, and formaldehyde exposure in the hair product/salon industry.
Workplace Safety and Health Reporter Winter 2012
An update on safety and health issues relevant to employers and their worksites.
Responding to Workplace Injuries - Your Reaction Can Be Costly
Employers should, of course, be very careful in how they respond to an employee's workplace injury. Recent developments in the law, at both the state and federal levels, have made this even truer than before. Many states, and the federal government, have created avenues for employees to sue their employer for retaliatory discharge if the employee is terminated following a workplace injury. Workers' Compensation laws, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") each protect employees from post-injury termination in a variety of circumstances. Even in circumstances where an employer had already made the decision to terminate an employee before the employee's injury, an employer still needs to be careful with regard to how it handles the termination.
OSHA Provides Warnings and Work Tips for Anticipated Winter Storm Work Hazards
As the winter storm season approaches, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has focused on protecting workers from hazards during winter storm response and recovery operations. OSHA’s new webpage, entitled “Winter Storms,” provides employers with information on preparing for winter storms and identifying and controlling hazards associated with winter storm conditions.
MSHA/OSHA Report (December 2011)
MSHA Flagrant Violation Policy for $220,000 Penalties Rejected;
New Rim Wheel Service Guidance;
OSHA Expands National Emphasis Program (NEP) for Hazardous Chemicals.
OSHA Compliance For Restaurants
Restaurants and their trade associations are justifiably proud of their food safety efforts as shown by the July 27, 2011 announcement by the National Restaurant Association celebrating over one million classes of restaurant industry training. But inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continue to turn up significant shortcomings in restaurant OSHA compliance – and these issues are not limited to the large institutional setting.
Tips For Protecting Your Workers From The Cold
Recent temperatures in the northeast were near record lows, meaning employees working in cold temperatures could face serious health risks. Cold weather is particularly dangerous to employees spending long hours outside, such as construction workers. Prolonged exposure to freezing or cold temperatures can result in serious health problems like trench foot, frostbite, hypothermia, and in extreme cases death. With winter bearing down upon us, it is a good time to familiarize yourself and your employees with the danger signs and important tips to protect them from the cold weather and potentially serious health threats.
MSHA/OSHA Report
Call for Felony Prosecution Power for MSHA Violations; Call for Public Hearings for Accident Investigations – Subpoena Power; OSHA Update - Recordkeeping Enforcement; OSHA Update - BLS Workplace Injury Data for 2010.
MSHA Update - Issues of Fairness with Regular and Special Assessments Review
By law, civil penalties can become final only when approved by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Thus, penalty assessments issued by MSHA are “proposed” only. By a legal fiction, they can become final orders of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, if not timely contested. Final penalties are to be based on consideration of six criteria in the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act: 1) history of violations; 2) size of business; 3) negligence; 4) ability to continue in business; 5) gravity; and 6) good faith in abatement. Operator contests typically dispute all or some of these findings.
OSHA 2011 Site-Specific Targeting Directive
Each year, OSHA revises its Site-Specific Targeting Directive based on the previous year’s data relating to workplace injuries and illnesses. OSHA “uses these data to calculate establishment-specific injury/illness rates, and in combination with other data sources, to target enforcement and compliance assistance activities.” Based on the results, locations with higher incident rates are scheduled for comprehensive inspections, including review of OSHA 300 logs for at least three of the past four years.
Incidence Rates of Nonfatal Injuries and Illnesses in Private Sector Continue to Decline
According to information released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of reported cases of private sector nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2010 declined once again from the prior year, continuing an 8-year trend. The BLS reports that in 2010, 3.5 injury and illness cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers were reported, down from 3.6 per 100 in 2009. The incident rate of injuries incurred only in the private sector remained unchanged between 2009 and 2010, with 3.4 reported cases per 100 full-time employees. Illness-only cases remained relatively unchanged as well. The only private industry sector that experienced an increase in its injury and illness incidence rate was manufacturing, which the BLS attributes to a larger decline in hours worked rather than the corresponding decline in reported injury and illness cases in that sector.
MSHA Update - Civil Penalty Deadlines
There are basically two types of civil penalty deadlines. There is a statutory deadline for operators to file notices of contest challenging the civil penalty and related citation and findings. There is also a deadline under the rules of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission for the Secretary of Labor (MSHA) to respond to operator contests by filing a petition for assessment of civil penalty with the Commission within 45 days. (The law actually calls for the Secretary to notify the Commission “immediately” upon receipt of an operator contest, but no consequences were established by Congress if this does not happen.)
OSHA Update - Employers as Guardians Against Violence
Earlier this month, OSHA issued Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting Workplace Violence Incidents. This new Directive is aimed at providing compliance officers guidance for responding to, and inspecting, allegations and incidents of workplace violence. In conjunction with the Directive, OSHA launched a new webpage focused on preventing workplace violence.
OSHA'S 2011 Site-Specific Targeting Plan
Last week OSHA announced its 2011 Site-Specific Targeting (SST) plan, the Agency's annual inspection program for general industry establishments with high numbers of injuries and illnesses. Whereas prior SSTs included only establishments with 40 or more employees, this year's SST has been expanded to include establishments with as few as 20 employees. The SST does not apply to employers in states with their own state occupational safety and health agency, although state agencies may choose to adopt the federal program in lieu of creating their own. Construction worksites are also excluded from the SST.
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Establishes Test for Applying Attorney-Client Privilege to Third-Party Reports
In a case of first impression, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has established a three-part test for employers claiming third-party safety and health audits protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege. Applying underlying legal principles of privilege to the technical area of safety and health assessments, the Commission has set forth steps that all employers need to consider taking before conducting any safety and health audits of their operations. The case, Secretary of Labor v. Delek Refining, Ltd., OSHRC No. 09-0844, was decided on July 11, 2011.
Retail Industry - The Injured Worker: Practical Approaches For Avoiding Lawsuits
Retail jobs almost all require certain physical capabilities. These can include physical work such as moving heavy inventory, pushing a mop, bending to assist a customer in getting a product off the bottom shelf, or handling merchandise at the cash register. Employees with physical limitations that prevent them from performing all the functions of their job can be difficult to manage.
MSHA/OSHA Report (August 2011).
Large Rock Leaving Mine After a Blast is Declared an “Accident”; OSHA Update.
MSHA Update
New issues have prompted noteworthy rulings by administrative law judges. While judge’s decisions are not binding precedent, they can influence other judges and are sometimes cited by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
OSHA Update - Draft Proposed I2P2 Regulation Is Expected by Mid-August
As part of the rulemaking process and pursuant to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), OSHA will soon convene a panel of small business members to review and comment on a draft of the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) regulatory text it anticipates publishing as a proposed rule. The agency recently announced that it expects to provide SBREFA members this draft by mid-August. The I2P2 rule remains one of the agency’s top priorities. Agency officials have indicated that they want to issue a final I2P2 rule in the next four years.
MSHA/OSHA Report (June 2011)
MSHA Enforcement - Document Demands; OSHA Document Demands; OSHA Update - Confined Spaces; OMB Review of Silica Rule Extended; National Survey on Employer Safety and Health Practices; OSHA Takes Aim at the Primary Metals Industry.
MSHA/OSHA Report
MSHA Enforcement Update; OSHA Update - Heat Related Illnesses; I2P2 Remains on OSHA's Agenda for 2011; OSHA Enforcement Update.
OSHA Enforcement Directive on Fall Protection in Residential Construction Effective June 2011
An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance directive requiring contractors performing residential construction to comply with the residential fall protection standard will take effect as scheduled on June 16, 2011. The Standard (29 C.F.R. § 1926.501(b)(13), Duty to Have Fall Protection) generally requires that guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems be used on residential jobsites that are more than six feet off the ground.
MSHA/OSHA Report (April 2011)
MSHA Enforcement – Whose Employees Are These?; OSHA Enforcement.
MSHA/OSHA Report (March 2011).
MSHA Budget—Oversight—Internal Review; Air Contaminant Survey Requirements; Workplace Examinations; OSHA Budget—OSHA Enforcement; New Guidance for PPE.
Crowd Control Tips From OSHA
In 2008, an employee of a major retailer was trampled to death by a stampede of customers surging into the store looking for Black Friday deals. On the same day, two customers in another chain had a shooting match resulting in both dying, although it does not appear to have been a shopping-related incident.
OSHA Moves Ahead with Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2)
No, I2P2 is not the cute little robot in the Star Wars movies. It is the moniker given by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to its expected Injury and Illness Prevention Program. The agency is working on new regulatory requirements that may affect nearly every employer. The agency wants employers everywhere to undertake an overarching, programmatic approach to occupational safety and health, a framework for their businesses to incorporate hazard investigation, identification, remediation and prevention into workplace culture. OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels describes the program rule as a risk-based system to address hazards in which workers will play an important role. OSHA, he said, is trying to get away from [a] catch-me-if-you-can approach to dealing with workplace safety and health issues.
Employers Don't Need to Worry About Bedbugs . . . Or Do They?
Bedbug infestations reported recently in major cities, including New York, Detroit and Cincinnati, have again drawn public attention to this growing pestilential nuisance. A casual observer might assume that bedbugs would not concern a human resources professional, in-house counsel or office administrator. He would be wrong. Bedbugs are invading workplaces, too. Offices, retail stores and other establishments have reported their presence. As with any other issue that may affect the workplace, employers need to understand the nature of the problem and their responsibility for addressing it. Left unchecked, it can become the focal point of any number of workplace complaints, grievances and charges.
The Lucky 13.
13 Strategies To Improve Safety, Reduce Exposure, And Improve Profits
The new administration's focus at OSHA, and other government agencies, focuses less on compliance and increasingly more on enforcement. That means more inspections, more audits, and more fines. Here are some ways you can help your company stay out of trouble.
OSHA moves forward with new final regulation - Injury and illness recordkeeping for "musculoskeletal disorders" and new 300/300A Forms.
In what some have characterized as a foundational step to returning to OSHA's broad-based ergonomics regulation rejected by Congress in 2001, OSHA has moved forward with its new final regulation for "musculoskeletal disorder" injury and illness recordkeeping, submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget on July 14, 2010, for projected release by OSHA no later than next month.
Under the new regulation, 29 C.F.R. 1904.12, effective January 1, 2011, all covered non-partially exempt employers will be required to record musculoskeletal disorder injuries and illnesses in the new musculoskeletal disorder ("MSD") column added to the OSHA 300 Log and 300A Form.
Mine Safety eAuthority (July 2010).
Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 Clears Committee on Party-Line Vote Most Surface Mines and Non-Gassy Metal/Nonmetal Mines Excluded
New Legislation Proposes Sweeping Changes to OSH Act
On July 21, the House Committee on Education and Labor approved the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 (H.R. 5663). The name of the bill is misleading, because in addition to addressing mine safety, the bill also proposes comprehensive revisions to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act).
Miner Act 2010?
The House Education and Labor Committee, chaired by Representative George Miller of California, recently drafted a bill (H.R. 5663) entitled the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010. The measures stated purpose is to improve safety compliance, empower workers to raise safety concerns, prevent tragedies and establish victims rights.
Don't Let OSHA Spoil Your Summer Fun.
As summer approaches, companies begin preparing for morale-building activities such as company-sponsored picnics, amusement park outings and other activities meant to build camaraderie and reduce stress. But employers should remember that any injuries sustained during such company-sponsored activities may need to be recorded on their Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) injury and illness logs.
Shelter From The Sun: Heat Protection for Employees in Arizona.
Arizona leads the nation in heat-related deaths, nearly all of which occur during the hot summer months. Companies with outdoor workers need to review their policies regarding the protection of workers from the elements.
Federal Government Announces A New Nevada OSHA Office: What This Means To You.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that it has, for the first time ever, opened an office in Nevada. The new office, which opened in early May, is located in Las Vegas.
Don't Let Employees Get Hurt As You Dig Out.
In the midst of finding childcare for children unexpectedly home from school, coping with business disruption, power outages, and dangerous streets, we often forget that winter storms, like hurricanes, pose special workplace hazards especially when employers begin to clean up and restore business. Many fatalities, injuries, and OSHA citations occur as employees perform non-routine tasks after the storm eases.
OSHAs 2009 Site-Specific Targeting Plan.
On July 20, 2009, OSHA announced its new Site-Specific Targeting (SST) Plan for General Industry worksites with 40 or more employees. The SST Plan is OSHAs primary tool for targeting employers with high numbers of serious injuries and illnesses for on-site inspections. This Plan does not apply to Construction worksites or to states with their own state OSHA agency. The 2009 SST Plan is based on employers OSHA 300 Logs and the OSHA 300A Annual Summary information for calendar year 2007.
Retail Industry Update: There's A New Sheriff In Town - President Obama's Enforcement-Driven OSHA.
Throughout his campaign, Sen. Barack Obama continually promised change if he was elected President, and he is now making good on that promise. If you read the safety-activist blogs and media reports, many seem to believe that OSHA is broken and the Obama Administration has to fix it. They cite the decrease in OSHA funding (adjusted for inflation) and a decrease in the number of OSHA inspectors as proof positive that this is not the OSHA that should be.
Disciplining Unsafe Behavior: Cornerstone of an Effective Safety Program.
Regardless of the outcome of the November Presidential election, an emboldened Congress will demand passage of numerous workplace-safety laws already introduced, including the radical Protecting American Workers Act. Observers also expect a shift in OSHA efforts from some cooperative programs to a more punitive and politicized enforcement effort, coupled with the departure of many evenhanded career professionals from OSHA and other agencies. Next to preparation for the possible passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (see Cute Titles for Bad Laws in May, 2008 Labor Letter) no area should receive more employer attention as 2008 comes to an end.
OSHA Form 300A Must Be Posted By February 1, 2008.
Most employers are required under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to maintain an ongoing record of occupational injuries and illnesses. Employers must use the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) Form 300, the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses to classify work-related injuries and illnesses. The OSHA Form 300 is also used to note the extent and severity of each case.
A Watchful Eye (pdf).
Contractors Need to Continue to Pay Close Attention to Current Developments in Criminal Liability Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Workplace Injuries And Illnesses Continue To Decline (pdf).
On November 17, the U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL) released its annual
report on nonfatal workplace injuries
and illnesses and the data continues
to reflect that the nations workplaces
are safer than ever before. Private sector
employers recorded 4.3 million injuries
and illnesses in 2004, resulting in a
rate of 4.8 cases for every 100 full-time
workers. In 2003, there were 4.4 million
occupational injuries and illnesses
recorded and a rate of 5.0 cases per 100
full-time employees.
