It’s hard to avoid the Harvey Weinstein scandal in the news this week. For those that missed it, Weinstein, a movie executive and co-founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company, was terminated after multiple women came forward with detailed allegations of sexual harassment and assault. While many of the women who have come forward were aspiring actresses and not company employees, at least one of those women was a 25-year-old receptionist. A recent New Yorker article states that Weinstein, the company CEO, made overt sexual advances toward this woman at least a dozen times. The young woman told the New Yorker she was “very afraid” of Weinstein, but she still reported the incidents to the company. It was reported that sixteen former and current executives and assistants at Weinstein’s companies had witnessed or had knowledge of his behavior (relating to various women), but it does not appear that the company thoroughly investigated or took action to properly address the reports and allegations.
MSHA to Delay and Amend Workplace Exam Rule for Metal/Nonmetal
MSHA will propose as yet undefined changes to the Workplace Exam Rule amendments adopted on Jan 23, 2017, that require exams prior to work, new records, and communication of exam results. We also expect MSHA will soon issue a further extension of the new rule’s current Oct, 2017 effective date. In the interim, the industry
Trump Administration Reduces Plans for New Rules From the OSHA Agenda
Even without a new Assistant Secretary for OSHA, the Trump Administration has recently deleted numerous Obama-era OSHA plans for workplace safety related rules. Rules that administration officials have said they plan to overhaul or scale back include: regulations strengthening limits to exposure to beryllium, addressing workplace safety violation in healthcare, and addressing combustible dust and
Another MSHA Request for Documents Upheld as Lawful
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that MSHA could demand a miners’ personnel records to assist an investigation into a worker’s discrimination complaint. In Hopkins Coal, an operator refused to provide personnel records to an MSHA investigator on the grounds the agency had not identified any protected activity the miner engaged in.