Dr. David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary for OSHA, announced that today, January 10th, would be his last day with the agency. He will be returning to academia at George Washington University beginning January 17th. And, on this last day, he continued what has been a very aggressive regulatory agenda by announcing that he was accepting
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Are You Ready for California’s Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care Rule?
By April 1, 2017, all employers in California operating in the following areas will be required to comply with Section 3342, the Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care rule: health care facilities; home health care programs; drug treatment programs; emergency medical services; and outpatient medical services to correctional and detention settings. This rule is far…
OSHA issues new guidance for Healthcare and Workplace Violence
If you are an employer who provides healthcare or social services, it is time to dust off the workplace violence policy and review! OSHA has released new guidance for preventing or materially reducing workplace violence events in healthcare and social service settings. According to OSHA, BLS data indicates that 27 out of 100 fatalities in…
OSHA’s Withdrawal of Slips, Trips and Falls Rule May Harm Defenses to Citations
OSHA first proposed a rule on Slips, Trips and Falls in 1990. Since that time, many employers have taken advantage of this proposed rule in making certain arguments related to Citations issued under Subpart D, the Walking-Working Surfaces regulations. If you never used this argument, you may be wondering how a proposed rule could help…
Chemical Facility Safety and Security
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,&rdquo…
OSHA Launches Temporary Worker Initiative
OSHA recently launched an initiative that focuses on protecting temporary employees from recognized workplace hazards. Under this initiative, OSHA is directing all OSHA compliance officers to assess whether employers who use temporary workers are complying with their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. For purposes of this initiative, temporary workers are…
The Heat is On: What Employers Can Do to Protect Employees from Heat-Related Illness
As a cold winter finally comes to an end, many of us look forward to summertime warmth. But while sun and heat may make for a fun day at the beach, they can spell danger for workers who are exposed to soaring temperatures and a rising heat index. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), thousands of workers in the United States get sick from excessive heat exposure while working outdoors each year and more than 30 workers died in 2012 from heat-related illnesses.
Although OSHA has no heat illness prevention standard, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSH Act”), known as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. That includes protecting them from heat stroke and other serious heat-related illness. Of the “State-plan” states running their own safety programs under agreements with OSHA, only California and Washington currently have heat-related illness prevention standards. However, other State-plan states also have general duty clauses in their statutes which may be invoked to address these issues.Continue Reading The Heat is On: What Employers Can Do to Protect Employees from Heat-Related Illness
Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2013 Introduced Into the House
Representative George Miller (D-CA) recently reintroduced a bill (H.R. 1649) that would provide whistleblower protections to certain workers in the offshore oil and gas industry. The bill was first introduced in 2010 and again in 2011. Continue Reading Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2013 Introduced Into the House
OSHA Clarifies that Workers May Authorize a Union or Community Organization to Act as Their Representative
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released a new interpretation letter on April 5, 2013, clarifying that non-union employees may select a non-employee who is “affiliated with a union” or with a “community organization” to act as their walk-around representative during OSHA inspections of their employer’s worksite. In reaching this conclusion, OSHA concluded that…
Department of Health and Human Services Proposes to Increase Respirator Certification Fees
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) require employers to supply NIOSH-certified respirators to their employees whenever the use of respirators is required. A NIOSH certificate of approval allows a respirator manufacturer the ability to sell its NIOSH-approved respirators to businesses or industries that require the use of respirators by their employees. Continue Reading Department of Health and Human Services Proposes to Increase Respirator Certification Fees