Category: News
Whistleblower Manual Update Details Policy On Punitive, Distress Damage Awards
OSHA recently issued an update to its whistleblower enforcement manual providing further depth of information to field staff on how to approach two major issues — the awarding of punitive damages and determination of emotional distress as a result of retaliation — as well as…
OSHA Allows Shipping Stocks Of Older Hazcom-Labeled Containers As New Regs Take Effect
OSHA has adopted a new enforcement policy to provide manufacturers and importers leeway to move any containers in existing stock that have already been labeled in compliance with the 1994 hazard communication rule and are prepared for shipment — a move timed just as a…
OSHA Targets September For Publication Of Controversial Recordkeeping Rule
OSHA may be only four months away from publishing a long-promised and highly controversial rule to compel employers to submit electronic records of work-related injuries and illnesses, with the September date for the rule inked in the latest regulatory agenda only a month slip from…
Industry Backs ‘Abatement Before Citation’ Bill, But Says Right To Contest Should Be Preserved
Industry advocates are voicing strong support for a measure put forth by Rep. Vickly Hartzler (R-MO) to alter OSHA enforcement by letting employers sidestep citations for non-serious regulatory violations as long as the alleged hazards are abated during a “grace period,” but there is also…
Final Rule On Confined Spaces In Construction Takes New Technologies Into Account, OSHA Says
OSHA says regulators have taken into account numerous new technologies available to building industries as it rolls out a rule adding a subpart to its construction standards to tackle confined space hazards much like the general industry regulations designed to ensure protections for workers in…
Texas Democrat Renews Push For Injury Logs Covering Multi-Employer Sites
A House Democrat from the Houston area has re-introduced legislation mandating that OSHA require logs of workplace injuries across the entirety of multi-employer work sites, regardless of whether a contractor or other type of temporary staffing company directly employs the workers as opposed to the…
Worker Advocates Urge Feds, States To Ramp Up Criminal Prosecutions In Severe Safety, Health Cases
A national umbrella group of worker advocacy organizations on Thursday (April 23) urged federal and state law enforcement officials — including the Justice Department working in concert with OSHA officials — to increase the number of criminal prosecutions brought in severe safety and health cases,…
Cell Tower Deaths Lead To New Reg Priority As OSHA Pushes Issue With Stakeholders
OSHA continues to hone its enforcement and regulatory emphasis on fatalities and severe injuries in communication tower building and maintenance, with Deputy Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab on Tuesday saying the agency has observed “an alarming increase” in fatalities in the fast-growing industry and assuring safety…
Citations Against Fracking Supplier Highlight OSHA Concern On Chemical Safety
OSHA’s recent citations against a New York supplier of plastic balls used in hydraulic fracturing, alleging process safety management (PSM) violations and other hazards, appears to underscore the agency’s heightened attention to safety in the large-scale use of chemicals, with one OSHA official lodging concern…
OSHA Continues Roll-Out Of Inspection Weighting, With Partial Focus On Health, Ergo
OSHA is pushing ahead with an effort to refocus scarce investigative resources toward priority areas through a data-driven system the agency calls “inspection weighting,” which uses historical data to allocate “enforcement units” for carrying out labor-intensive inspections — an approach some in industry consider a…
Health, Safety Regulatory Concerns Arise In Talks On Dispute Settlement Provisions Of Trade Deal
Public interest groups are raising alarm about the global safety, health and environmental enforcement implications of a developing trade agreement and whether a controversial section of the accord could put the public at risk by allowing investors to skirt regulatory mandates in countries participating in…
OSHA Warns Health Care Employers Of Workplace Violence Risks, Raising Industry Concern
OSHA Warns Health Care Employers Of Workplace Violence Risks, Raising Industry Concern OSHA has put the health care and social service sectors on notice that it intends to enforce against workplace violence risks through potential use of the OSH Act general duty clause, telling the…
