Insight & Commentary on Occupational Safety & Health Issues
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:
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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.
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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…
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…
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:
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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.
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…
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.
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…
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…
