1, OSHA has developed enforcement procedures that could significantly impact employers. As outlined in an article by Rod Smith and his colleagues at the Sherman Howard law firm, once an initial report is received, OSHA will get back to the employer with a questionnaire that asks the cause of the accident and whether similar accidents have occurred before. OSHA will then place the incident into Category 1, 2 or 3. Enforcement OSHA Recordkeeping MORE

OSHA’s report on its most frequently issued categories of violations in 2014 is a good reminder that protecting workers against falls is one of the most important safety measures an employer can take.Fall protection topped the list of OSHA violations cited in 2014 – with 7,272 violations across all industries that resulted in more than $20 million in fines against employers. The post OSHA stats highlight importance of fall protection appeared first on FDRsafety. MORE

Fifty-four workers were killed in excavation accidents last year, according to OSHA. MORE

OSHA's updated Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems Final Rule, effective January 17 of this year, allows some tasks to be done without fall protection systems as long as the work is 'temporary and infrequent MORE

OSHA is recommending legislation that would increase civil penalties and index them for inflation, as well as increasing criminal penalties. OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels has said before that OSHA penalties need to be stronger and previously took administrative action to do so. MORE

OSHA is again taking a misguided stand against safety incentive programs as part of an effort to protect workers from retaliation for reporting injuries or illnesses. OSHA says the paper is intended to guide employers on creating a non-retaliatory work environment. A fairer way to address alleged instances of retaliation is for OSHA to be required to identify an injury or illness that was not reported and prove that the failure to report was due to intimidation. MORE

The OSHA Recordkeeping regulation requires employers keep a record of serious injuries and illnesses using the OSHA 300 Log. The basic requirements start with the idea that each establishment expected to be working for at least one year must have its own separate OSHA 300 Log. MORE

What a difference a few months can make, as can be seen with changes at OSHA. A review of recent issues of OSHA’s “Quick Takes” newsletter highlighting important agency news paints a different picture of OSHA than newsletters from last fall. The story OSHA wanted to tell about itself was enforcement, enforcement, enforcement. Eight years ago, the new leaders of OSHA announced there was a “new sheriff in town.” By Jim Stanley. MORE

As is well known, OSHA recently launched enhanced recordkeeping requirements, and if there is any doubt that the agency is serious about enforcement one need only look at violations just announced against an oil and gas services company. Willful violations are those in which OSHA alleges that a company either intentionally disregarded the law or showed plain indifference to employee health and safety. Enforcement OSHA Recordkeeping MORE

Employees who want to pursue whistleblower-retaliation claims against employers may find it easier to do so under a new policy directive issued by OSHA. The directive, reported by the news site iwpnews.com, lowers the legal bar for OSHA to initiate an investigation of a complaint. OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program aims to protect employees from retaliation for raising concerns about safety in the workplace. MORE

OSHA will keep new, tougher exposure limit in place, but delay enforcement indefinitely, pending public comments MORE

OSHA press releases often provide the punitive blow that has more impact than the final financial penalty MORE

OSHA has substantially increased its inspections of worksites where temporary workers are employed, following up on an initiative announced 18 months ago directed at temporary staffing agencies. OSHA expressed concerns that “some employers may use temporary workers as a way to avoid meeting all their compliance obligations under the OSH Act and other worker protection laws.” Enforcement OSHA MORE

On Tuesday, June 20, OSHA will present a proposal to extend the enforcement date of its crane operator certification requirement in the Cranes and Derricks In Construction standard until November 10, 2018. MORE

New OSHA recordkeeping rules that went into effect this year are creating confusion among employers about the definition of an amputation and how to quickly determine if an incident that occurred after work hours is actually work-related, according to an article in Business Insurance magazine. 1, require that the hospitalization of a single employee – rather than three employees as previously required — be reported to OSHA within 24 hours of management learning that it occurred. MORE

Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched its "Safe and Sound Campaign" and is calling on employers to review their safety and health programs to protect workers, and reduce workplace injuries and deaths The U.S. MORE

Throughout its 46-year history, OSHA has had the authority to utilize Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, commonly known as the General Duty Clause, to address “recognized hazards which are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees,” and where there are measures that are “feasible, available and likely to correct the hazard.” Accordingly, the Court held that OSHA must utilize the administrative rulemaking process. Articles OSHA MORE

OSHA’s proposal to set a standard to ensure that employers establish a comprehensive infection control program has run into resistance from a small-business panel convened to review the proposed regulation. The panel called on OSHA to review whether additional regulation is really necessary and to examine data on risks for each work situation where a new standard might apply. MORE

OSHA is again promising that a final rule is forthcoming on confined space in construction, and a top agency official said that the standard generally aligns with those for general industry. But before anyone gets their expectations up, it is worth noting that OSHA has made similar predictions before that the standard was imminent, only to have the target date pass by in silence. The post OSHA says confined space standard for construction coming appeared first on FDRsafety. MORE

OSHA has tightened the rules on reporting in-patient hospitalizations resulting from work-related injuries. 1, employers must notify OSHA of work-related fatalities within eight hours, and work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations or losses of an eye within 24 hours. OSHA has also updated the list of industry categories partially exempt from OSHA recordkeeping requirements. OSHA Recordkeeping MORE

Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched its " Safe and Sound Campaign " and is calling on employers to review their safety and health programs to protect workers, and reduce workplace injuries and deaths The U.S. MORE

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is raising its penalties to match the rate of inflation marking the first increase in penalties since 1990. OSHA invites public comment for a 45-day period after which clarifying statements will be followed by a final rule. MORE

The importance of conducting proper investigations into workplace accidents has taken on added significance given the increasingly zealous enforcement of workplace safety laws by OSHA. Collin D. Cook and Warren L. Nelson, Fisher Phillips. MORE

Planning for an OSHA inspection is good business. When you apply to have OSHA’s safety and health professionals evaluate the worksite, anything they find that needs to be fixed won’t result in a compliance citation as long as it is put right. Who Is Covered (Or Not) By OSHA. MORE

Employers are now liable for potential problems with their OSHA-required records of work-related injuries and illnesses for five years after the occurrence of any violation, under recently revised regulations, and may need to revise their record-keeping practices. 18, is OSHA’s response to a 2012 U.S. Affected by the regulation are employer OSHA 300 Logs, OSHA 301 Incident Reports, and the OSHA 300A Summary of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses. MORE

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to extend the employer's responsibility MORE

Thanks to a new OSHA recordkeeping rule, employers urgently need to take a close look at their employee handbooks, safety policies and procedures, safety incentive programs, and drug testing policies. This new rule is yet another effort by the agency to attempt to publicly shame employers, force them to change drug testing and safety incentive policies, and increase the classifications and penalties associated with OSHA citations. Enforcement OSHA Recordkeeping MORE

OSHA is seeking to significantly expand its powers over recordkeeping by effectively adding five years to the time it can issue citations. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed that OSHA has six months under its statute of limitations to issue a citation for alleged recordkeeping violations. But in its Spring 2014 Regulatory Agenda, OSHA said it would be offering up a rule that would effectively extend that period to five and a half years. MORE

While the recent joint employer ruling by the National Labor Relations Board does not directly impact other employment laws, such as the OSH Act, it does highlight a growing movement by OSHA to hold companies responsible for the health and safety of workers supplied by staffing agencies – which can have significant consequences for employers. The post Keep an eye on OSHA after big NLRB joint employer ruling appeared first on FDRsafety MORE

Employers cited for workplace safety or health violations could find themselves facing significantly higher penalties and possible felony prosecution under a new federal initiative to use alleged OSHA violations as a launching point to investigate whether companies are also violating environmental laws. The post OSHA violations: Back door to higher penalties and criminal prosecution appeared first on FDRsafety. Enforcement OSHA MORE

Small employers may not realize that they may be exempt from “programmed” OSHA inspections if they employ 10 or fewer employees and operate in a low-hazard industry. Programmed OSHA inspections are those conducted by the agency on a regular basis. If an employer is exempt because of working in a low-hazard industry, OSHA offices are allowed to investigate or schedule inspections in response to a complaint from a current employee. Enforcement OSHA MORE

Yesterday, OSHA suspended the 2016 Final Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesse s requiring companies to electronically report their injury and illness records. MORE

A federal appeals court has ruled against OSHA in a case stemming from a fatal accident involving a lathe at a manufacturing plant, saying that the agency’s interpretation of its regulations on machine guards “strains a common sense reading.”. OSHA had argued that the agency was entitled to “deference” in its interpretation of its regulations. OSHA had issued 7 violations against the company and proposed a $490,000 fine. Courts Enforcement OSHA MORE

Many of you may be wondering why, all of a sudden, OSHA is spending an inordinate amount of time inspecting the machines and equipment in plant maintenance areas. However, if you recently experienced OSHA’s increased focus in this area, you may wish you had read this sooner. Despite the very low risk, OSHA is indeed citing for the things noted above. Enforcement OSHA MORE

Now administrators have to factor in an additional pressure: OSHA has recently stated that it has jurisdiction to pursue hospitals that do not meet safety standards for infection control and points to CDC guidelines as the “authoritative source of information” on how to protect workers who could have contact with Ebola patients. Jonathan Snare of Morgan Lewis has provided an insightful analysis of how to address the potential of an OSHA inspection in these circumstances. MORE

OSHA continues to cite employers aggressively, and at the same time is suggesting and frequently mandating certain types of abatement. This may overstep their authority, but many employers enter into a formal or informal OSHA settlement trying to avoid expensive litigation and abate alleged violations following agency’s suggestions or mandates. If OSHA’s suggestions are reasonable and feasible, obviously that’s the right way to go. Enforcement OSHA MORE

General contractors at construction sites are being held to a higher level of responsibility for coordinating the safety activities of contractors when it comes to confined spaces in what may be a little-noticed provision of a new OSHA standard. OSHA described the new standard on confined spaces in construction as including “more detailed provisions requiring coordinated activities when there are multiple employers at the worksite. MORE

OSHA appears to be interested in expanding the definition of an ergonomic injury for recordkeeping purposes to include incidents which cause workers to have minor soreness or discomfort. Two poultry industry trade groups have criticized a recent OSHA citation against Wayne Farms for alleged safety violations at its Jack, Alabama, plant involving musculo-skeletal disorders and other workplace hazards. MORE

He is author of a new book, “OSHA Recordkeeping Simplified.”. OSHA’s new recordkeeping rules on fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses are fairly clear, but they leave unresolved the confusion that many employers feel about the overall recordkeeping process. OSHA standards were meant to be the “heart” of the OSH Act. So OSHA knows where your injuries and illnesses are occurring, or do they? Enforcement OSHA Recordkeeping MORE

All affected employers need to finalize their OSHA 300 log data about work-related injuries and illnesses that required medical treatment beyond first aid. When completing these forms, it is important to know some of the most common OSHA recordkeeping mistakes that could result in enforcement action. The top five are as follows: 1) Not keeping an OSHA 300 log and posting a 300A summary even though you are required by law. Enforcement OSHA Recordkeeping MORE