Insight & Commentary on Occupational Safety & Health Issues
In a news release issued today, OSHA notified employers in state plans that they must submit their injury and illness data through OSHA’s portal even if their state has not yet adopted the new requirements of the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” regulation. According to OSHA,
“[the agency] determined that Section 18(c)(7) of
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With what has now become a regular ritual, lawmakers rushed to pass a $1.3 trillion omnibus bill on the last possible day to avoid a government shutdown. The 2,300-page bill was passed by the House last Thursday by a vote 256-167 with many Democrats joining Republicans to support the bill. The Senate then passed the…
Under OSHA’s Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulation, certain employers covered by OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements must annually file either their 300A or their 300A, 300 Log and 301 forms depending on the establishment size and other criteria. For 2017, all employers covered by the regulation were required to file only their 2016 300A…
OSHA is beginning the New Year with higher penalties. Effective today, civil penalties for violations of OSHA standards and regulations increased to adjust for inflation. In a Federal Register notice issued today, the U.S. Department of Labor increased civil penalties for a variety of regulated areas, such as Immigration, Child Labor, Wage and Hour, MSHA…
On August 16th we reported that OSHA had suspended user access to its new Injury Tracking Application (“ITA”) that serves as the web portal for the submission of injury and illness information under OSHA’s “Improve Tracking of Workforce Injuries and Illnesses” rule. The suspension followed a warning by the Department of Homeland Security alerting…
OSHA recently released the top ten violations for fiscal year 2017, which ended September 30. Generally, this list does not change much from year to year with the top three violations always being fall protection, hazard communication and scaffolding. OSHA noted that not all violations had been added to its reporting system but that the…
In a memorandum issued today from Thomas Galassi, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary to OSHA Regional Administrators, OSHA has announced how it will handle enforcement of the new Silica Standard for the construction industry, which takes effect on September 23, 2017.
For the first 30 days of enforcement OSHA will not issue citations to those employers…
On August 1, 2017, OSHA finally launched its web portal to accept submission of recordkeeping forms pursuant to the requirements in the final rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses.” Under the rule, which was promulgated in May 2016, OSHA originally anticipated having the portal available by February 1, 2017, with submissions…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a new enforcement policy that excludes monorail hoists from regulations on cranes and derricks in constructions.
Stakeholders had argued that monorail hoists are not the same as cranes and derricks in construction, pointing out that these hoists are attached to fixed monorails mounted on trucks, trailers, scaffolding…
In March 2016, Federal OSHA promulgated a final rule on Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica for Construction, which established a new permissible exposure limit and contained several ancillary provisions that apply to the construction industry. The rule was codified at 29 C.F.R § 1926.1153 and became effective on June 23, 2016. Under the standard, all…
