The Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (“ACCSH”) is an advisory body that provides advice and assistance to OSHA regarding construction standards. There are 15 members of this advisory committee comprising representatives for employers, employees, federal, state and public representatives. ACCSH generally meets two to four times a year.

ACCSH recently met in December 2014. During this meeting Mr. Maddux, OSHA’s Director for the Directorate of Construction indicated that OSHA anticipated presenting ACCSH with draft regulatory text regarding crane operator qualification/certification at the spring ACCSH meeting.  The draft regulatory text is intended to address the following: (1) whether certification of an operator means the operator is qualified to operate the crane or whether the employer must make a separate and independent determination that the operator is qualified, (2) whether certification must address both the type and capacity of the crane the operator is being certified to operate, and (3) provide more explicit training requirements.

OSHA has called a special meeting for ACCSH members to “consider a proposed rule to revised OSHA’s crane operator qualification requirement in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard.” Based on this notice for a special meeting it appears that the Agency has a draft proposed rule that it will present to ACCSH for consideration.

According to the Federal Register Notice the tentative agenda for the meeting will include a presentation on OSHA’s Proposed Rule to revise the Crane Operator Qualification requirement in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standards (29 CFR Part 1926, Subpart CC) and discussion and consideration by ACCSH of OSHA’s proposed rule revisions.

The meeting is open to the public and public comments are permitted. The meeting will be held in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Department of Labor from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2015 and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 1, 2015.

A copy of the Federal Register notice can be found online.

 

 

 

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Photo of Tressi L. Cordaro Tressi L. Cordaro

Tressi L. Cordaro is a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is co-leader of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. She advises and represents employers on occupational safety and health matters before federal and state…

Tressi L. Cordaro is a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is co-leader of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. She advises and represents employers on occupational safety and health matters before federal and state OSHA enforcement agencies.

Ms. Cordaro has advised employers faced with willful and serious citations as the result of catastrophic events and fatalities, including citations involving multi-million dollar penalties. Ms. Cordaro’s approach to representing an employer cited by OSHA is to seek an efficient resolution of contested citations, reserving litigation as the option if the client’s business objectives cannot otherwise be achieved. As a result, she has secured OSHA withdrawals of citations without the need for litigation.

Ms. Cordaro’s unique experience with government agencies involved in OSHA enforcement enables her to provide employers with especially insightful guidance as to how regulators view OSHA compliance obligations, and evaluate contested cases.

Ms. Cordaro served as the Presidentially-appointed Legal Counsel and Special Advisor to the past Chairman and Commissioner Horace A. Thompson, III at the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in Washington, DC, the agency that adjudicates contested federal OSHA citations. As the Commissioner’s chief counsel, Ms. Cordaro analyzed all cases presented to the OSHRC and advocated the Commissioner’s position during decisional meetings.

In addition, Ms. Cordaro worked at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration developing OSHA standards, regulations and enforcement and compliance policies, with emphasis on the construction industry. She has in-depth experience on technical issues including, in particular, issues related to cranes and derricks in construction.

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