Articles Discussing General Topics Under OSHA.

On September 15, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published Directive Number CPL 02-00-169, a new instruction to its enforcement arm, updating policies and procedures for OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). The instruction, which took effect immediately, aims to expand the scope of the SVEP and target

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is moving forward with plans to update its standards to “clarify the requirements for the fit” of personal protective equipment (PPE) that must be provided to construction workers. On September 7, 2022, OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to the Office

On August 12, 20222, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a citation to a farm labor contractor alleging violations for exposing workers to high ambient outdoor heat following the death of a worker on a strawberry farm in Florida. The citation serves as warning for employers, particularly those

Employers can breathe a sigh of relief for now as it appears that Senate Democrats are no longer pursuing a massive increase to OSHA’s penalties for safety violations.  Currently, the maximum fine OSHA can assess against an employer per alleged repeat, willful, or failure-to-abate violations is $145,027.  The penalty amount

On June 15, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision limiting the reach of the emergency response provisions of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.120, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard—the so-called “HazWoper” (or “HAZWOPER”) standard.

High temperatures in the Southwestern United States have and continue to break records. In Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, the heat index could reach triple digits and in some cases exceed 110°F. These elevated temperatures pose a serious risk to employees exposed to heat due to the nature of their

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a new indoor and outdoor heat enforcement initiative impacting over 70 high risk industries. With the goal of mitigating employee exposure to heat hazards in the workplace, the agency intends to ramp up its efforts by increasing inspections and enforcement activity across the targeted industries.

With summer fast approaching, OSHA has ramped up investigations into heat-related injuries in the workplace. In furtherance of President Biden’s heat illness initiative, on October 27, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding a future standard requiring employers to prevent heat-related

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a new enforcement initiative that will target one of the agency’s top priorities after the appearance of COVID-19: indoor and outdoor heat-related workplace hazards.

Just in time for the hotter weather of spring and summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a new national emphasis program on April 8, 2022, to help prevent heat-related illnesses.

Under current OSHA regulations, establishments with 250 or more employees in industries that are required to keep their OSHA injury and illness records must submit information from the Form 300A Injury and Illness Log electronically.  Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in specific industries listed in Appendix A to

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has made clear that heat illness is a top priority, and the forthcoming heat exposure standard is certain to affect construction firms.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced in a memorandum it will proceed with a highly focused, short-term initiative directed at general medical and surgical hospitals, psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals, and skilled nursing and assisted living facilities that provide care to or handle COVID-19 patients.

From 2020 through 2021, wildfires burned more than 1.5 million acres of land in Oregon. To put things in perspective, the area that burned was approximately seven times the size of New York City. Wildfire smoke can contain hazardous small particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing a

The recent spike in inflation has now caused a 6.2 percent rise in penalties for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and other labor laws.