Total Articles: 5
New Enforcement Procedures For Investigating Workplace Violence
On September 8, 2011, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its inaugural written enforcement directive for in-cidents of workplace violence. The directive will be used by district supervisors and area directors in evaluating whether to conduct an investigation into allegations of workplace violence. Moreover, the directive lists inspection procedures to be followed by compliance officers while conducting inspections as well as potential methods of abatement available to employers.
OSHA Issues Memorandum Announcing "Administrative Enhancements" to OSHA's Penalty Policies to Dramatically Increase Employers' Fines
On September 29, 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) took the next step in its 22-month effort to increase penalties and more vigorously enforce the OSH Act. OSHA head Dr. David Michaels sent to all of OSHA's Regional Administrators and the State Plan Administrators a memorandum outlining the deployment of the new Administrative Penalty. Effective October 1, 2010, all OSHA Area offices are directed to utilize the new penalty policy and the associated calculation system.
OSHA implements new "Site Specific Targeting" inspection plan for thousands of employers
On August 18, 2010, OSHA implemented Site-Specific Targeting 2010 (SST-10) - its new programmed inspection directive for non-construction employers.
Under SST-10, OSHA will focus its enforcement efforts on thousands of randomly selected employers, with 40 or more employees, for comprehensive "wall-to-wall" safety inspections in industry sectors that have historically high employee injury and illness rates. Special emphasis will be placed on manufacturing, nursing and personal care facilities. See the end of this article for a complete list of industry sectors, by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code, that are included in SST-10. Under certain circumstances, comprehensive health inspections will also be conducted, and employers with fewer than 40 employees and/or that have a different SIC Code than those listed at the end of this article may also still be subject to an SST-10 inspection.
SST-10 contains three separate inspection lists - Primary, Secondary and Tertiary - based on information from OSHA's 2009 Data Initiative collection of 2008 employee injury and illness data from employers nationwide. It initially uses "DART" and "DAFWII" rates to select employers for inspection. An employer's DART rate is employee injuries and illnesses with days away from work, restricted work activity, and transfers to another job (OSHA 300 Log columns H plus I) divided by the numbers of hours worked during the calendar year, then multiplied by 200,000. Its DAFWII case rate is the number of injuries and illnesses with days away from work (OSHA 300 Log column H) using the same type of formula.
What to do When OSHA Comes Calling on a Hot Day.
OSHA recognizes that five to ten million workers are exposed to heat-related illnesses each year. Due to the belief
that such illnesses are preventable occupational health hazards, effective March 23, 2010, OSHA established a
Regional Emphasis Program (“REP”) for outdoor heat-related health hazards. The program applies to all worksites in
Region VI, which is comprised of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and those worksites in New Mexico that
are under OSHA’s jurisdiction. The REP is designed to prevent employees from developing heat cramps, heat
exhaustion, and heat stroke.
Keeping the Ball in Your Court: Creating Allies in Your Workforce to Minimize OSHA Inspections, Citations, and Penalties
According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration statistics, nearly 20 percent of all OSHA inspections are prompted by a complaint, typically from a current or former employee. Pending legislation that proposes dramatic increases in employee involvement in the inspection and citation process threatens to raise this percentage and increase the likelihood of unfavorable inspection results and more severe penalties, as a direct consequence of individual employee input. Proposed whistleblower protections that protect employees from retaliation if they make a complaint or get involved will likely bolster employee confidence to complain and participate in inspections. This increased employee involvement and a change in whistleblower protections, coupled with the anticipated overall swell in OSHA enforcement activity and increased penalties, may potentially expose employers to significantly greater liability for safety infractions than in the past, as well as create substantial employee relations problems.
