The Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration met on June 20, 2017, to learn about and give recommendations on OSHA’s proposed rule to extend the enforcement date for crane operator certification requirements of the revised Crane Standard, 29 C.F.R. 1926 Subpart CC, issued in 2010. Click … Continue Reading
The rule to lower permissible workplace exposure to beryllium is undergoing changes in a White House review, Occupational Safety and Health Administration deputy director for standards and guidance Maureen Ruskin has told safety specialists, as reported by Bloomberg BNA. The final rule took effect on May 20, 2017, and employers must comply with most of … Continue Reading
Rulemaking is underway to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to remove the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Final Rule, the General Services Administration has said in guidance to federal agencies instructing them not to wait for the formal rescission to ensure certain contract clauses are not in new or existing government contracts and solicitations. … Continue Reading
The compliance date for an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule requiring construction crane operators be certified by a third-party evaluator and designated as “qualified” will be delayed, the agency announced on May 22, 2017. To read the full article, click here.… Continue Reading
Regulation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reduce worker exposures to beryllium “to prevent chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer” took effect on May 20, 2017. An OSHA spokesperson said on May 22, however, that the agency received a petition to stay the effective date, which it is reviewing. The spokesperson pointed out … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued two reports on the safe management of hazards by small businesses and storage facilities that use highly hazardous chemicals in business processes. To read the full article, written by Nickole Winnett, click here.… Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has nominated attorney James Sullivan to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) to fill the remaining vacancy on the three-member commission. To read the full article, written by Tressi Cordaro, click here.… Continue Reading
Two Massachusetts contractors were operating as a single employer at a worksite in Massachusetts when at least two employees of a roofing crew fell from a wooden plank in October 2014, an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission administrative law judge has ruled. To read the full article, written by Brad Hammock, click here.… Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has nominated Heather L. MacDougall, current Acting Chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, to continue as a Commissioner for a second term. To read the full article, written by Joe Dreesen, click here.… Continue Reading
Promoting the message, “Young workers! You have rights!” the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a campaign on workplace safety among youth workers. To read the full article, written by Ray Perez, click here.… Continue Reading
Fatalities from falls continue to be a leading cause of death in the construction industry, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is focusing on the dangers with its “Stand-Down” campaign on fall prevention. The annual campaign, scheduled for May 8 to May 12 this year, is to put the focus on reducing fall-related fatalities … Continue Reading
In some of his first public comments since taking office, Department of Labor Acting Solicitor Nicholas Geale has signaled a shift in policies, telling attendees at a Georgetown University Law Center event that his department will “listen to the regulated community a little more” from a position of a “little bit more humility.” To read … Continue Reading
The House of Representatives has voted to block a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordkeeping rule implemented in the last weeks of the Obama Administration. “Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness” was published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2016, and … Continue Reading
The Occupational and Safety and Health Administration released a preliminary list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for 2016, compiled from about 32,000 inspections of workplaces by federal OSHA staff. To see the top 10 and read the full article, written by Joe Dreesen, click here.… Continue Reading
Congressional leaders again have pressed the Department of Labor for information on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s potential guidance to OSHA investigators on determining if there is a joint-employer relationship between companies. To read the full article, written by Joseph Dreesen, click here.… Continue Reading
The next version of Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s annual voluntary guidance cataloging measures for improving safety and health in the workplace may include insights from the public. For the first time ever, OSHA wants assistance from the public to identify the “leading indicators.” To read the full article, click here.… Continue Reading
The White House is reviewing a proposed worker safety rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that aims to expand the requirement on how long employers must maintain accurate records of worker injuries and illnesses. To read the full article, written by Tressi Cordaro, click here.… Continue Reading
President-elect Donald Trump will assume office on January 20, 2017, with a Republican majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. While it is difficult to predict whether the new administration will be able to deliver on President-elect Trump’s campaign promises, we can expect significant policy and enforcement shifts. To read the full … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued new guidance designed to protect the rights of whistleblowers who reach settlements approved by OSHA. To read the full article, written by Nickole Winnett, click here.… Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration failed to go through the proper rulemaking process before mandating retailers to implement new stricter storage standards for anhydrous ammonia fertilizer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled. To read the full article, written by Joseph Dreesen, click here.… Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration overstepped its authority in expanding union representation at “walk-arounds” in non-union workplaces, the National Federation of Independent Business has alleged in a lawsuit against the agency filed in Texas. Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Dougherty, No. 3:16-cv-02568 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 8, 2016). To read the full article, written … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is considering updating its safety standards covering falls in shipbuilding, ship repair, shipbreaking, and other shipyard-related employment and has issued a Request for Information. Comments and materials must be submitted by December 7, 2016. To read the full article, written by Tressi Cordaro, click here.… Continue Reading
Using a crane to move headstones and small monuments is “generally” not defined as construction, but the crane operator is still responsible for stringent worker-safety rules regarding crane operations, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has advised in response to a question from an Arkansas granite and marble cemetery monument delivery company. To read the … Continue Reading
