In a case that took a stunning 18 years to resolve, a federal appeals court has limited OSHA’s ability to impose willful violations, which carry heavier potential penalties than standard violations. The case stemmed from a citation personally served in …
OSHA’s warning about workplace rewards programs that might encourage employees not to report injuries raises concerns that some good companies may be unfairly caught up in an enforcement action. Before I begin, let me make clear that no one at …
While appropriate use of lockout/tagout is critical to safe operation, OSHA sometimes has been going too far in ramping up lockout enforcement, as shown in a recent case where a violation was withdrawn. Companies who have been hit with lockout …
As mentioned in a previous post OSHA is warning companies not to structure rewards programs — whether intentionally or not — so that they encourage employees not to report injuries or illnesses. An example might be offering the chance to …
A federal appeals court has struck down recordkeeping violations issued by OSHA against a petrochemical construction and maintenance company for allegedly failing to report workplace injuries that in many cases occurred years before the citations were issued. The ruling goes …
A federal appeals court decision has pushed back against what appears to be an attempt by OSHA to expand the definition of a “work-related” injury. The case involved an OSHA citation against Caterpillar Logistics Services for allegedly failing to record …
OSHA is warning employers to be careful about rewards programs that could unintentionally – or perhaps even intentionally – encourage employees not to report injuries. In a recent communication, OSHA cited as an example a program in which employers created …
There are more than a few old jokes featuring an elephant and an ant and often they’re about the little guy winning against all odds. But the following story about another kind of elephant (Nevada OSHA) and an ant (a …
OSHA penalties double, but are workplaces safer?
FDRsafety launches pipeline environmental inspection and consultation service
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In a decision that could have national implications, the Oregon Court of Appeals this month made it more difficult for Oregon OSHA to use misconduct by a supervisor as the basis for issuing a citation. For more than 10 years, …