OSHA’s new, misguided requirement for detailed electronic reporting of injury and illness data by employers has come under legal challenge by a coalition of trade associations, employers and an insurance company.
OSHA is experimenting with adding another weapon to its “shaming penalty” arsenal with a pilot program in its Midwest region called the Whistleblower-Severe Violator Enforcement Program. The OSHA whistleblower pilot program is similar to the existing Severe Violator Enforcement Program, …
As illustrated by the Cooper Tire & Rubber case, OSHA has used the General Duty Clause in a way never originally intended.
A question sometimes comes up as to whether a trench or other excavation is a permit-required confined space under OSHA standards. The answer in broad terms is no, even though conditions in a trench can sometimes resemble those in a …
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.
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 settlements trying to avoid expensive litigation and abate alleged violations following agency’s suggestions or mandates.
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.
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.
If you are like me, when you first heard that Congress and the President had agreed upon a bipartisan budget bill that would fund the government for the next two years, you said to yourself, “It’s about time.” But as proof that nothing comes free, buried deep in the bill is a provision that will raise the maximum OSHA fines by over 50 percent in 2016.
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.