On May 21, 2015 the spring semiannual regulatory agenda for federal agencies was published. This Regulatory Agenda provides a complete list of all regulatory actions that are under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review and covers regulatory actions for over 60 federal departments, agencies, and commissions.
The regulatory agenda for the Department of Labor
Effective August 3, 2015, the construction industry will have its own dedicated Confined Spaces Standard (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA) similar to already well-established standards which cover general industry. The new standard covers all construction employers whose employees may be subject to confined space hazards, with the exception of specialized construction activities (excavations, underground construction,
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and OSHA has taken the opportunity to post a blog on the subject in which it reminds employers that “traffic accidents are the number one workplace killer.” OSHA does not require employers to have any type of a cell phone policy in place but in its “Distracted Driving: No
In the Federal Register Volume 80, Number 72, dated Wednesday, April 15th, OSHA published a Request for Information (RFI) on Communication Tower Safety. The public comment period is open for 60 days and written comments must be submitted by June 15, 2015. Submissions must be identified by referencing Docket No. OSHA-2014-0018.
In its
In February Jackson Lewis published an article about Cal-OSHA’s proposed changes to its Heat Illness Prevention standard which were approved by a vote of 5-1 by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. On April 8, California announced that the changes will become effective on May 1, 2015. The changes effect potable water, shade
In a memorandum dated February 11, 2015, Tom Galassi, Director of Directorate of Enforcement Programs, announced that the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) has been expanded to include upstream oil and gas hazards as High-Emphasis Hazards. Interestingly, the memo was not posted on OSHA’s website until late March after being in effect for over a
OSHA announced in April 2013 its initiative to protect temporary workers. Since then, OSHA has published three bulletins intended as guidance documents for situations where a staffing agency and a host employer are considered joint employers, sharing the responsibility to meet the health and safety requirements under the OSH Act. The two most recent bulletins
At a recent American Bar Association meeting, Tom Galassi, Director of Enforcement Programs for OSHA, stressed the agency’s continued focus on key enforcement initiatives, such as temporary workers, corporate-wide settlement agreements and the continued use of the severe violator enhancement program (“SVEP”).
Inspection Statistics
Mr. Galassi discussed inspection statistics and noted that OSHA has committed
Beginning on January 1, 2015, employers in states with Federal OSHA jurisdiction were required to start reporting to OSHA work-related fatalities (that occur within 30 days of the work-related incident) within 8 hours of learning of the fatality, work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours of the work-related incident.
However,
Effective January 1, 2015 employers in states with Federal OSHA jurisdiction must report to OSHA all work-related fatalities (that occurs within 30 days of the work-related incident) within 8 hours of learning of the fatality, all work-related in-patient hospitalizations, all amputations and all losses of an eye within 24 hours of the work-related incident.
In order to manage the influx of new reported injuries, OSHA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary, Dorothy Dougherty issued an internal memo to all Regional Administrators on December 24, 2014 outlining interim enforcement procedures for the new reporting requirements.
This twenty some page policy provides Regional and Area offices with instructions for the intake of reports, the input of reports to OSHA’s online database, and the triage of reports that will be inspected and investigated.Continue Reading OSHA Internal Memo Outlines Triage Process for Reported Fatalities & Injuries