OSHA Law Blog : Occupational Safety Lawyer & Attorney : Jackson Lewis Law Firm : Health, OSHA Compliance

During a particularly busy September, OSHA issued three new enforcement directives that employers should review:

Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting Workplace Violence Incidents.  On September 8, 2011, OSHA issued its first ever directive instructing compliance officers on how to conduct inspections that occur as a result of workplace violence incidents.  The directive "clarifies and expands" OSHA policies in the area of workplace violence.  While OSHA has no specific standard addressing workplace violence, the Agency has stated that workplace violence is a recognized hazard and that it will utilize the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to cite employers who do not take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect employees against workplace violence hazards.

Site-Specific Targeting 2011.  On September 9, 2011, OSHA issued its Site-Specific Targeting program (SST) for the coming year.  The SST is OSHA's "main programmed inspection plan for non-construction workplaces that have 20 or more employees."  Establishments are placed on OSHA's SST inspection list based upon information submitted to the Agency through its 2010 Data Initiative.  

Whistleblower Investigations Manual.  On September 20, 2011, OSHA published its revised Whistleblower Investigations Manual, superseding the 2003 version.  The Manual provides step-by-step instructions to OSHA investigators on how to conduct investigations under the numerous whistleblower statutes that OSHA enforces.  The revised Manual is part of a larger effort announced recently by OSHA to revamp its whistleblower protection program.

OSHA enforcement directives provide useful information regarding the conduct of inspections and, in some cases, underlying compliance obligations.  Employers are encouraged to take note of these new directives and make any needed adjustments to their safety and health policies as a result of their review.

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Click here to read this recent Jackson Lewis article on a new Connecticut law requiring health care employers to develop and implement plans, policies, and training programs to prevent and respond to workplace violence incidents.  Putting aside the issue of whether such a law is preempted by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, health care employers in Connecticut should review the new law carefully and start analyzing to what extent they need to make changes to their existing workplace violence policies. 

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Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has signed into law the “Possession of Firearms and Ammunition in Locked Vehicles Law.”  The law bars employers from adopting any rule or policy prohibiting employees, including contract employees, from storing firearms and ammunition out-of-sight in their locked vehicles.  Effective July 1, 2010, the law applies only to persons who may possess a firearm or ammunition legally.  It does not apply to the possession of a firearm, ammunition, or other device for which an individual must possess a valid federal firearms license issued under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 923).

In general, the gun law precludes employers in Indiana from adopting or enforcing any policy or rule that “prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, any employee, including a contract employee, from possessing a firearm or ammunition that is locked in the trunk of the employee’s vehicle, kept in the glove compartment of the employee’s locked vehicle, or stored out of plain sight in the employee’s locked vehicle.”

The law includes several broad exceptions, however.  Specifically, it permits employers to ban the possession of a firearm or ammunition on school property, property that is being used by a school for a school function, or on a school bus.  Employers also may prohibit employees from bringing firearms or ammunition on the property of:
 

• a child caring institution;
• an emergency shelter care child caring institution;
• a private secure facility;
• a group home;
• an emergency shelter care group home;
• a child care center;
• a penal facility;
• an approved post-secondary educational institution;
• a domestic violence shelter;
• a person’s residence; or
• a location in violation of federal law.

Property that either is subject to the United States Department of Homeland Security's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (issued April 9, 2007), and licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (under Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations), or is owned by a public utility that generates and transmits electric power or a department of public utilities also is exempt from the gun law.  Finally, the law permits employers to ban the possession of a firearm or ammunition in an employee’s “personal vehicle” if the employee is a “direct support professional” who “works directly with individuals with developmental disabilities” and uses his personal vehicle to transport such individuals.

Employers in Indiana must take note of this new law and review their policies concerning the possession of firearms or ammunition on company property, including company-owned vehicles.  

We will continue to keep you apprised of developments in this area.

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