Month: October 2015

October 21, 2015

Workplace Violence Case Tests OSHA Use Of Guidance In General-Duty Citations

An enforcement case before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) will explore to an unusual extent the limits of OSHA using guidance documents as a legal basis for issuing penalties in circumstances like workplace violence where no specific standard applies, potentially affecting use…

October 21, 2015

House Republicans Challenge OSHA ‘Joint Employer’ Test, See Union Hand In Shaping Policy

Congressional Republicans are pressing Labor Secretary Thomas Perez to release documents tied to the Solicitor’s Office drafting of contentious new guidelines for OSHA to decide if businesses should be treated as joint employers — effectively helping expand OSHA’s enforcement reach into franchises and similar business…

October 13, 2015

OSHA Pushes Back Confined Spaces Enforcement For ‘Good Faith’ Home Builders

OSHA has decided to give employers in residential construction three more months to fully comply with the agency’s confined spaces in construction standard as long as they are demonstrating “good faith” efforts to follow the new regulations, with OSHA setting specific guidelines for that determination….

October 13, 2015

OSHA Awaits Budget Office Go-Ahead To Issue Electronic Recordkeeping Rule

OSHA took a key step forward in its regulatory plan to require larger companies to electronically report workplace injuries and illnesses, with the data later being posted to an online database, by sending the rule for White House review — a clear signal OSHA fully…

October 8, 2015

Agribusiness Groups Fight OSHA’s Process Safety Retail Interpretation; GOP Escalates Feud

A powerful coalition of agribusiness trade groups urged House lawmakers Wednesday (Oct. 7) to pressure OSHA into reversing course on a controversial interpretation of the agency’s rule to prevent chemical process disasters, just as congressional Republicans took OSHA to task for a field guidance they…

October 6, 2015

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…