OSHA Guidance

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You might be surprised to learn that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces 22 different whistleblower protection laws. This includes laws governing workplace safety and health at construction, manufacturing, energy generation or distribution and other worksites. It also includes a broad array of laws that regulate hazards and prohibited activities specific to airlines,…

In a press release issued September 11, 2014, OSHA announced the final rule for Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements.  For Federal Plan States, the regulation will come into effect on January 1, 2015; State Plan States will announce their dates independently but are encouraged to meet the same deadline.  This regulation brings …

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…

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…

OSHA has recently announced two new “initiatives” aimed at improving compliance in traditional "summer-time" areas of concern for the agency:  heat illness and falls.

Heat Illness

Since 2009, OSHA has placed a priority on the prevention of heat illness, especially in the hot summer months.  The most recent campaign is intended to raise the awareness among workers and…

In a recent memorandum to Regional Administrators and Whistleblower Program Managers, Richard Fairfax, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for OSHA, has provided "guidance to both field compliance officers and whistleblower investigative staff on several employer practices that can discourage employee reports of injuries and violate section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH…

As the winter storm season approaches, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has focused on protecting workers from hazards during winter storm response and recovery operations. OSHA’s new webpage, entitled “Winter Storms,” provides employers with information on preparing for winter storms and identifying and controlling hazards associated with winter storm conditions.

A number of hazards…