Authored by: Linda Otaigbe On December 9, 2015 OSHA held a public meeting at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. to discuss its revised Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines, which are voluntary guidelines for employers. Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, led the meeting and sought input … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is asking for stakeholder input on revised safety and health management guidelines that employers may adopt voluntarily. The draft guidelines (SHPM_guidelines.pdf) update the agency’s 1989 safety and health program management guidelines. To read the full article, written by Tressi Cordaro, click here.… Continue Reading
OSHA launched a new Preventing Workplace Violence in Healthcare webpage this week. It contains several new tools and resources to help healthcare facilities combat workplace violence, including: An executive summary for hospital administrators and others who want to learn more about the prevalence of workplace violence in healthcare, associated costs, key risk factors, and what … Continue Reading
Season 1, Episode 4 – 7 mins 5 sec This podcast discusses OSHA’s updated guidelines on safety and health management programs, which have been put out for public comment. If you have issues trying to play this file, right click on the link and choose “save target as” and save the file locally (such as … Continue Reading
This week OSHA announced that it is seeking public comment on its updated voluntary Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines (OSHA-2015-0018) which it hopes “will provide employers and workers with a sound, flexible framework for addressing safety and health issues in the workplace.” Comments must be received by February 15th, 2016. The Safety and Health … Continue Reading
In a recent interpretation letter, OSHA responded to an employer’s request for “clarification on whether an employee’s laceration and subsequent fainting at the sight of blood constitutes a recordable case on the OSHA Form 300.” The employee had scratched his finger on a vinyl saw clamp at work. The injury was minor and the only … Continue Reading
Recognizing that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, OSHA introduced last week its draft document, “Protecting Whistleblowers: Recommended Practices for Employers for Preventing and Addressing Retaliation” (available here). In the draft document, OSHA identifies these five key steps to creating an effective anti-retaliation program: Ensure leadership commitment Foster an anti-retaliation culture … Continue Reading
While big penalties levied by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration dominate the headlines, monetary fines imposed by health and safety agencies in states backed by OSHA can be significant, too. To read the full article, written by Carla Gunnin, click here.… Continue Reading
Under an exception to the rulemaking process, federal agencies may use legally nonbinding guidance documents to interpret regulations. This has led some U.S. senators not only to issue a broad pledge to restrict the practice when such guidance becomes a rule enforceable against a regulated community, but also to request that the Occupational Safety and … Continue Reading
Parties to whistleblower disputes have a new way to resolve their differences using the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s “early resolution” process. Click here to read the full article, written by Avi Meyerstein.… Continue Reading
On July 20, 2015, OSHA published a long awaited Directive on the revised Hazard Communication Standard (“HCS”), Inspection Procedures for the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS 2012), CPL 02-02-079. The Directive is intended to provide inspection and enforcement guidance to compliance officers regarding the final Hazard Communication Standard published in March 2012. However, the Directive also … Continue Reading
On May 4, 2015, OSHA published the Confined Spaces in Construction standard, 29 C.F.R 1926, Subpart AA. The new standard is effective August 3, 2015. Several interested stakeholders petitioned the agency for a delay in the August enforcement date citing the need for additional time to train employees and obtain the necessary equipment to comply with … Continue Reading
OSHA’s new Hazard Identification Training Tool is designed as “an interactive, online, game-based training tool for small business owners, workers and others interested in learning the core concepts of hazard identification.” Users enter a rudimentary virtual world where they are able to choose to visit one of four scenarios: OSHA Visual Inspection Training, Manufacturing, Construction, … Continue Reading
OSHA issues new guidance to Regional Administrators and State Plan Designees on the enforcement of the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard’s recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP) requirements. The new guidance clarifies OSHA’s positions with respect to enforcing the PSM standards that reference or imply the use of RAGAGEP. The memorandum provides the … Continue Reading
On June 1, 2015, OSHA announced its new Best Practices: A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers. The core principle underlying OSHA’s best practices is that: “All employees, including transgender employees, should have access to restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.” OSHA’s Sanitation standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.141(c)) mandates that employers who fall … Continue Reading
OSHA first announced its proposed rule on Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica in August 2013 and concluded public hearings on the proposed rule in April 2014. In spite of this ongoing intense rulemaking on occupational exposure to crystalline silica, OSHA and NIOSH published a Hazard Alert on Worker Exposure to Crystalline Silica during Countertop Manufacturing, … Continue Reading
In anticipation of the holiday season and an increase in holiday shoppers lured by the promise of big sales, OSHA sent a letter to major retailers last week. The letter serves as a reminder to retailers of their responsibility to protect their employees and ensure a safe working environment under the General Duty Clause of … Continue Reading
On August 8, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a report in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Vol. 63. No. 31) related to the causes of heat illness and death among workers in the United States. The report is the result of a OSHA’s Heat … Continue Reading
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”). The MOU is intended to facilitate coordination and cooperation between the two agencies when enforcing the anti-retaliation provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (“STAA”), 49 U.S.C. § 31105, and the anti-coercion … Continue Reading
On January 15, 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched an online resource tool to help hospitals assess workplace safety needs, implement safety and health management systems, and enhance their safe patient handling programs. The online resource tool was created in an effort to assist hospitals in combating their high workplace injury and … Continue Reading
On December 27, 2013, OSHA quietly issued a memorandum to all Regional Administrators providing compliance guidance to Compliance Safety & Health Officers (CSHO) for inspections of manufacturers and importers under the revised Hazard Communication Standard. Specifically, the guidance is meant to provide CSHOs with criteria for determining whether classifiers (manufacturers and importers) have appropriately classified … Continue Reading
In the wake of the devastating West Texas fertilizer plant explosion in April, the federal government is moving to improve chemical facility safety and security. We anticipate a number of significant government proposals and actions over the next year. The Presidential Executive Order of August 1, 2013, “Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security,” directs the … Continue Reading
OSHA recently issued its long-awaited regulatory agenda. The agenda is designed to provide stakeholders with notice of what major regulatory initiatives the agency is planning and the projected timetables for those initiatives. OSHA’s agenda is the first issued in several months by the agency and provides a glimpse into the regulatory priorities – in President … Continue Reading
