Earlier today the Senate confirmed, 53-to-44 , Eugene Scalia, son of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, as the next Secretary of Labor. Scalia replaces former Alexander Acosta who resigned in July under mounting pressure due to his involvement in a 2008 plea deal involving Jeffrey Epstein. Scalia has prior experience with the Department of Labor where … Continue Reading
This morning the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted 12-11 along party lines to approve Eugene Scalia’s nomination as Secretary of Labor. The vote came five days after his confirmation hearing before the HELP Committee on September 19, 2019. This vote advances his nomination to the full Senate where it is expected to … Continue Reading
On July 29th OSHA submitted a draft Request for Information (RFI) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding Table 1 in OSHA’s construction standard for silica. If approved by OMB, OSHA intends to issue the RFI in the Federal Register to determine if revisions to Table 1 may be appropriate. On March 25, … Continue Reading
On July 18th President Trump announced his intention to nominate Eugene Scalia to replace former Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. Gene Scalia is the son of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In 2002, following an appointment by former President George W. Bush, Gene Scalia served as solicitor of the Department of Labor. Mr. Scalia … Continue Reading
On July 10, 2019, U.S. House of Representatives Democrats released a bill that, if passed, would require OSHA to develop a federal standard on workplace heat stress. Under the proposed bill, OSHA would have two years to propose a heat protection standard to protect both indoor and outdoor workers. The bill requires the federal standard … Continue Reading
This morning President Trump announced Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s resignation. Secretary Acosta resigned under mounting pressure due to his involvement in a 2008 plea deal involving Jeffrey Epstein. Patrick Pizzella, who is the current Deputy Secretary of Labor, will become the Acting Secretary of Labor. Pizzella served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management … Continue Reading
Members of the House of Representatives recently introduced legislation that would require the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to promulgate a standard addressing workplace violence in the healthcare and social service industries. Under the bill, the standard would need to include requirements for employers in the healthcare and social service industries to develop comprehensive plans protecting … Continue Reading
In 2018 and the early part of 2019, there has been a flurry of interesting decisions from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (“Commission”). The decisions have ranged from a case clarifying Secretary of Labor’s burden for a repeat citation to two decisions on the general duty clause, one sustaining a citation involving workplace … Continue Reading
On March 11, 2019, OSHA issued a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking comments and information from stakeholders regarding the use of powered industrial trucks (PITs) for maritime (1915.120, 1917.43, 1918.65) construction, (1926.602(c), (d)), and general industries (1910.178). OSHA is considering revising current standards regarding powered industrial trucks and this information will … Continue Reading
Despite no federal funding, it appears that the Office of Federal Register is operational. Today, the Federal Register published the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2019. This final rule increases civil penalties the Department of Labor assesses including those assessed by OSHA. The rule is effective today and the increased penalty … Continue Reading
For employers who are required to maintain work-related injury and illness records, its that time of year again. Employers covered by OSHA’s recordkeeping rule are required to prepare and post the OSHA Form 300A, “Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses,” beginning February 1 and keep the form posted until April 30. The form must be posted … Continue Reading
While much of the rest of the government is shutdown, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) is hard at work. OSHA which is an agency within DOL is one of the few agencies that is fully funded and operational. On January 15th, OSHA issued a pre-published version of its Federal Register notice for the increase in … Continue Reading
In September, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a draft report criticizing OSHA for not having appropriate controls in place to ensure employers report severe injuries and abate hazards. The September OIG report recommended to OSHA that the agency develop formal guidance and train staff on how to detect and prevent underreporting, consistently issue … Continue Reading
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s order quashing an administrative warrant for the inspection of a poultry processing plant. USA v. Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc., No. 16-17745 (11th Cir. 2018). In February 2016, an employee of Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. (“Mar-Jac”) was injured while repairing an electrical panel requiring … Continue Reading
A recent Bloomberg Environment article reported that “Almost Half of Employers Didn’t Comply With Injury Reporting Rule.” Employers required to maintain injury and illness records were required to submit their 2017 annual summary of workplace injury and illnesses, OSHA 300A Form, by July 1, 2018. Approximately 460,192 employers were expected to file the 300A Form, but only … Continue Reading
Three years after introducing new severe injury reporting requirements that require employers to report any work-related amputation, in-patient hospitalization, or loss of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours of the incident, and fatalities within 8 hours, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit to determine if OSHA had effectively implemented these … Continue Reading
In response to OSHA’s announcement in May this year that the agency would not require the electronic submission of 300 Logs or 301 Forms for employers with establishments of 250 or more employees, Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging OSHA’s suspension of the requirement to … Continue Reading
OSHA is a step closer to publishing a proposed rule revising the Obama-era regulation, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. OSHA’s proposal has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under Executive Order 12866. This is the final internal review before the proposal gets published in the Federal Register and signals … Continue Reading
In August 2010 OSHA issued the final cranes and derricks in construction standard, 1926 – Subpart CC. As part of that standard, crane operators were required to either be certified or qualified (depending on the option elected by an employer) by November 10, 2014. 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1427(k). On February 10, 2014, OSHA proposed a … Continue Reading
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 the … Continue Reading
Employers must ensure they are in compliance with most of OSHA’s beryllium rule’s requirements for general-industry and with the PEL and STEL in construction and shipyard industries by May 11, 2018. The rule (29 CFR 1910.1024, 29 CFR 1915.1024, and 29 CFR 1926.1124), promulgated in January 2017, sets a new, lower eight-hour permissible exposure limit (PEL) … Continue Reading
During the April 12th U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriation’s Subcommittee Hearing to review the FY2019 Department of Labor Budget Request, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta was questioned on OSHA’s injury and illness record-keeping regulation passed under Obama’s administration, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. The focus of the questioning centered on weighing the usefulness and necessity … Continue Reading
Authored by Courtney Malveaux Members of a key Congressional committee recently made clear that it is looking to nudge the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) into a more cooperative direction. Some industry leaders have observed that, under the Trump administration, OSHA has begun to do just that. Last Tuesday, the Workforce Protection Subcommittee of … Continue Reading
Earlier this month OSHA published a guidance document for the tree care industry, “Solutions for Tree Care Hazards.” The two page publication addresses five major hazards for the tree care industry, including traffic control, chippers, aerial lifts, power lines and drop zones for falling objects. The publication breaks each topic into risk factors and prevention … Continue Reading
