OSHA Articles

OSHA to Develop Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced plans to establish a committee charged with advising and making recommendations to Department of Labor and OSHA officials regarding ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of OSHA�s whistleblower protection program (WPP). The WPP enforces the whistleblower provisions of twenty-one separate whistleblower statutes, including those set forth in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank).

DOL Seeks to Gauge Worker Knowledge of Workplace Wage and Safety Rights

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Department of Labor has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed information collection request (ICR) that would determine the degree of employee knowledge concerning their rights governed by the DOL�s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

OSHA Recordkeeping Violations Subject to Six-Month Limitations; Continuing Violation Theory Rejected

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 EST

Vacating citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act�s recordkeeping requirements, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has held that the citations were untimely and barred by the Act�s six-month statute of limitations. AKM LLC d/b/a Volks Constructors v. Secretary of Labor, No. 11-1106 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 6, 2012). The Court further held that the �continuing violation� rule did not extend the statute of limitations.

Top 10 OSHA Citations In The Healthcare Industry, Part 2

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 EST

Following up on the discussion in our last issue of the Healthcare Update, this month we are examining one of the most rigorous and demanding areas of OSHA compliance � failure to meet the information and training requirements of the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (BBP).

OSHA Criticizes Safety-Incentive Programs, Encourages Whistleblowers

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 EST

For several years, we have encouraged employers to move away from safety-management programs which primarily track the program's effectiveness based upon recordable injuries, and which utilize monetary-incentive programs based on the number of recordable workplace injuries. Our principal reason for discouraging such programs is that recordable incidents focus on "lagging" indicators, may not identify causes, and may be affected by the capriciousness of timing and "bad luck."

Mine Operators: No-Fault Liability Extended to Independent Contractors

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an independent contractor may be held liable for a violation on mine property even if the contractor was not at fault. This unprecedented ruling affirms a decision of the federal Mine Safety Review Commission in Ames Construction, Inc. v. Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission and Secretary of Labor.

D.C. Circuit Rejects OSHA's Recordkeeping Citation Policy

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST

In a significant victory for employers, the D.C. Circuit has held that OSHA recordkeeping violations must be cited within six months of the failure to record, or the citations will be considered untimely. An employer's failure to properly record or maintain workplace injury and illness records for the requisite five-year period under OSHA's recordkeeping regulations does not constitute a continuing violation that tolls the six-month statute of limitations for issuing citations. This decision effectively limits OSHA's ability to issue citations for recordkeeping violations that fall outside the statutory six-month limitations period, as stated in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act.

OSHA Finalizes Major Changes to its Hazard Communication Standard

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a rule revising its hazard communication standard to align it with the United Nations� Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). This is one of the agency�s most significant rulemaking efforts in over a decade. The rule, released March 26, 2012, will affect more than 5 million businesses across the country and more than 40 million employees will need to be retrained on hazard communication. OSHA estimates the annualized compliance costs will be more than $200 million for employers. Annualized net monetized benefits are estimated at approximately $550 million.

Employers Need to Be Aware of New Modifications to OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST

On March 26, 2012, OSHA revised its Hazard Communication Standard (�HazCom�), aligning it with the United Nations� Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (�GHS�). The revised Standard is intended to help workers better understand chemical hazards in the workplace and to improve safety training related to those hazards. The revisions to the Standard include: (1) changes to the criteria for classifying chemicals according to their hazard level; (2) changes to the labeling system to ensure consistency in labels and Safety Data Sheets; and (3) changes to the training requirements on the new labels and Safety Data Sheets. Non-compliance with the updated Standard can result in OSHA citations and fines.

OSHA Focuses Enforcement Resources on Nursing and Residential Care Facilities

webmaster@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to encourage compliance with safety and health standards at nursing and residential care facilities through programmed inspections. The NEP, which directs OSHA compliance officers to focus their inspections on ergonomic stressors associated with lifting patients; slips, trips, and falls; bloodborne pathogens; exposure to tuberculosis; and workplace violence, took effect on April 5, 2012 and is scheduled to remain in place for three years. Our Special Report summarizes key aspects of the NEP and provides guidance to employers to help ensure they are in compliance with the OSHA standards identified as target areas in the NEP.