Category: News
OSHA Hits Recycling Plant With Fines As Industry Comes Under Growing Scrutiny
OSHA charges that an Illinois recycling company overexposed workers to lead and cadmium and violated several of the agency’s standards, with proposed fines totaling $114,800 — action that comes as worker advocacy groups call attention to safety and health issues in the recycling industry in…
Senators Want OSHA To Rescind OSHA Policies Issued As Guidance, Use Rulemaking Instead
A key Senate panel on government oversight will formally request that OSHA rescind several guidance documents that have far-reaching implications for the agency’s rule designed to prevent chemical disasters, and then go back to the drawing board with a public rulemaking process, Sen. James Lankford…
OSHA Allows 30 More Days To Comment On ‘Volks’ Rule, Agreeing In Part To Industry Request
OSHA has decided to extend by 30 days the time period to comment on a planned rule designed to overcome a court decision holding that OSHA’s statute of limitations applies to the discrete occurrence of an injury or illness not being properly recorded, even if…
OSHA Obtains Civil Contempt Order, Alleging ‘Serial’ Violator Refuses To Pay Fines
OSHA has successfully pursued a civil contempt order against a small Maine construction employer over his alleged refusal to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in OSH Act fines, as the agency comes under pressure to take the toughest enforcement actions possible against what safety…
OSHA Steps Up Ergo, Medical Oversight At Poultry Plants With Hazard Alerts, Citations
OSHA strongly signaled its continued intent to stem ergonomics problems at poultry plants using every angle possible — inspections, fines and warnings to the industry — most recently by issuing citations against a Delaware chicken supplier and then following up months later with a series…
Solicitor’s Office: ‘Economic Realities’ Key OSHA Test Of Joint Employer Status
Labor Department lawyers have drafted a policy for OSHA to determine whether a joint employer relationship exists between franchisors and franchisees that includes several key tests, including an analysis of “economic realities,” according to an internal document obtained by Inside OSHA Online. The draft policy…
Judge Blasts ‘Reckless’ OSHA Action, Overturns Citations Against Maritime Firm
A judge in throwing out OSHA’s citations against a Texas shipbreaking operation criticized the agency in unusually strong language as he reversed the penalties, finding agency officials had acted “recklessly” by misrepresenting their intent to abide by an agreed-upon 60-day abatement period stemming from an…
OSHA Reaches Landmark Settlement With Nursing Care Center On Safe Patient Handling
OSHA has landed a significant agreement with an Ohio nursing care facility that stipulates new policies and procedures for safe lifting and repositioning of residents — a step forward in the agency’s efforts to tackle the growing issue of ergonomics in health care through enforcement…
OSHA Hits Companies With Large Fines Over Asbestos, Makes Cross-Agency Referrals
OSHA signaled a willingness to take tough enforcement action and widely publicize alleged willful infractions of the agency’s asbestos standards, hitting two Illinois construction companies and a manager with nearly $2 million in proposed fines, alleging numerous violations of the longstanding regulations. One of the…
ExxonMobil Fire Leads To Heavy Cal/OSHA Fines, Deeper Scrutiny Of Refinery Safety
Cal/OSHA hit ExxonMobil with more than $566,000 in proposed fines stemming from the February blast at the company’s Torrance, CA, facility that injured four workers, an incident that sparked renewed national attention to refinery safety and that led the state to form a task force…
Contractors To White House: Back Off On Orders Like ‘Safe Workplaces’ Screening
Several groups of federal contractors banded together early this month to tell the White House that President Obama should refrain in the “foreseeable future” from issuing executive orders that could negatively impact contractors, just as the administration rolls out a new policy requiring agencies to…
OSHA Poised To Unveil Beryllium Proposed Rule, Likely Limited To General Industry
OSHA reportedly is set to release on Thursday a long-anticipated proposed rule tackling worker exposures to beryllium, a standard that sources tell Inside OSHA Online has been crafted only to apply to general industry and not to the construction and maritime sectors, where the metal…
