Articles Discussing Workplace OSHA Inspections.

Restaurants should be on higher alert for potential inspections from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in light of the agency’s recent Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19 and National Emphasis Program — Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Interim Enforcement Response Plan for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (interim plan) to guide the agency’s field personnel in handling investigations into coronavirus-related complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports. In March, […]

As the complexity of OSHA inspections increase and penalties rise, employers need to ensure that they are fully prepared for such site visits. In this podcast, Littler’s Brad Hammock, co-chair of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health practice group, discusses steps employers can take to prepare their worksites for when OSHA “comes knocking.” From initial compliance to developing a written protocol for managing the inspection process, this podcast describes the key components for navigating an OSHA inspection.

August 1, 2016, is the effective date for imposition of higher fines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but violations alleged in inspections occurring as recently as this February may be subject to the increased fees, according to OSHA. That is because OSHA can take as long as six months after the start of an inspection to issue citations and propose penalties.

Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 OSHA is required to increase civil penalties for the first time since 1990 and a one-time catch-up adjustment will occur in August 2016. Penalties are expected to be increased by roughly 80 percent, meaning a serious citation of $7,000 may now be $12,500 and a $70,000 willful violation may now be $125,000. The precise penalty amount will be known when OSHA publishes this information in the Federal Register on or before July 1, 2016.

In recent months, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited several agribusiness employers for alleged violations of its standards, proposing significant penalties against them.

The number of process safety management compliance inspections at oil refineries and chemical plants, as well as inspections involving workplace violence and ergonomics, are likely to increase under a new inspection strategy launched October 1 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSHA announced this week a shift in how it will evaluate inspections, recognizing that inspections are not all equal and that more-complex inspections deserve more weight. The complexity of an inspection affects the amount of time, manpower and other resources required by OSHA and this new tiered inspection system will reflect this complexity. Under the new system, “Enforcement Units” will be assigned to an inspection; the simplest inspection will be one unit and the most complex inspection could be as many as nine units. Dr. Michaels believes that this will allow OSHA to focus on “more impactful inspections” rather than the number of inspection completed each year.

As announced a few days ago, OSHA is expanding its use of enforcement resources in hospitals and nursing homes to focus on the following recognized hazards: i) musculoskeletal disorders related to patient or resident handling; ii) bloodborne pathogens; iii) workplace violence; iv) tuberculosis; and v) slips, trips, and falls.

OSHA recently investigated a DuPont facility after four workers were killed by the release of a lethal gas. OSHA cited DuPont for 11 safety violations and fined them $99,000. Nine of these violations were classified as “serious” (OSHA defines a serious violation as when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm), while one was a repeat violation.

Two recent court cases upheld citations that were issued for violations of OSHA’s fall protection standard and a willful citation for exposing workers to excessive heat.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has stepped up its enforcement of safety and health regulations in retail stores. Retailers need to be alert to health and safety issues at their stores and warehouses, both to ensure their workplaces are safe and to be ready for possible OSHA inspections and investigations.

During a House Subcommittee hearing on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recent sub-regulatory actions, Littler Shareholder Maury Baskin urged lawmakers to call upon the agency to withdraw its recent Letter of Interpretation (LOI) that allows union agents and community organizers to accompany safety inspectors into non-union worksites. Testifying on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Associated Builders and Contractors, Baskin explained that the LOI, issued on February 21, 2013, contradicts the plain language of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and is simply “bad policy.”