On April 29, 2009, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said OSHA would pursue a dedicated, comprehensive rule-making on combustible dust. Under the previous administration, OSHA pursued targeted enforcement of employers through a National Emphasis Program (mostly in federal enforcement …
In September 2008, OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction, Safety and Health recommended that OSHA rescind the interim fall protection standard for residential construction. I believe OSHA has/will accept this recommendation and will rescind the interim standard before the end of …
The key to a successful OSHA inspection is careful advance preparation that includes a thorough understanding of what will happen and the rights that an employer and an inspector have during the process. The law firm of Sherman & Howard …
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an unusual review into the practices of a state occupational safety and health agency. The Las Vegas Sun reported that a task force comprised of federal OSHA officials and two officials …
OSHA has resumed its practice of answering very specific questions about how its regulations should be interpreted. The answers, known as letters of interpretation, appear on the agency’s web site and most of the posted answers deal with construction safety …
OSHA is stepping up its on-site inspection of injury and illness records as part of a new National Emphasis Program focusing on employers with low incidence rates who operate in high-rate industries. The program also will include a sample of …
The following item from ChamberLinks, a publication of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, provides insights into OSHA’s priorities in Region 3, which includes West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia: The regional director for the …
More evidence of OSHA’s new increased emphasis on enforcement, as opposed to voluntary programs, came recently when it announced that it would re-evaluate its Voluntary Protection Programs in light of a critical report by the General Accounting Office. The agency …
OSHA announced recently that agency compliance officers had visited 104 companies in four southeastern states where it said employees may have been exposed to potential combustible dust hazards. The visits, conducted over the previous 16 months, resulted in 667 violations, …
With Barack Obama’s election came widespread expectations of change at OSHA. Now those changes are starting to take shape. Here are five things to look for: Larger monetary penalties for violations: These are included in a measure called the Protecting …