OSHA’s new final silica rule that dramatically reduces allowable exposures to respirable crystalline silica takes effect this week for most employers. In particular, the rule kicks in on June 23, 2018 for employers in general industry, maritime companies, and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in the oil and gas industry (for fracking, engineering controls still do not take effect until June 2021).
Continue Reading OSHA silica rule takes effect this week with 30-day grace period
Kim Slowey of Construction Dive reviews the top 10 OSHA penalties in construction under the Trump administration. She notes that while the new OSHA’s news releases may be toned down from the prior administration’s, “that doesn’t mean OSHA stopped citing and fining companies.”
MSHA announced last week that its mine safety inspectors are joining the digital age. Goodbye, “general field notes” on lined paper? Hello, customized tablets.
According to a decision this week, an OSHA compliance officer can write you a citation even if her credentials are expired. Your opportunity to challenge the credentials is only before you let her inside. Continue Reading An OSHA officer with expired credentials can cite you…
Everyone from political junkies to average citizens has an opinion on the January 2018 government shutdown, and some may have bets on its duration. However, while the government continues to flounder, the private sector economy continues to run. How does the shutdown affect OSHA and MSHA enforcement? Continue Reading What effect does the government shutdown have on OSHA and MSHA enforcement?
OSHA announced today that it will continue to accept electronic submissions of employer Form 300A illness and injury summaries through December 31st. The deadline for this first-ever electronic collection of these forms had been December 15th. Continue Reading OSHA extends acceptance of injury forms until December 31st
Today, OSHA announced a further two-week delay in the deadline for employers to submit their 2016 injury and illness data electronically to the agency. The new deadline will be December 15, 2017. That will mark the first time that employers are required to routinely submit such data under a new rule issued during the Obama administration. Continue Reading Does your business have to give OSHA injury data by December 15?
In the last few months, mine operators around the country have seen individual MSHA inspectors and districts suddenly enforce new interpretations for a number of regulations. The latest rule evolving right before our eyes in one district could have widespread effect: grounding and continuity testing. Is MSHA’s new approach justified? Continue Reading Discontinuity: A new change in MSHA enforcement with far-reaching impact
A few weeks back, MSHA announced a new “training and enforcement” initiative on “working alone,” which MSHA claimed was necessary because of five fatalities in 2017. But, I had to ask: do these incidents really have anything to do with each other or with working alone? Continue Reading Digging deep into MSHA’s working alone initiative – on solid ground?
by Mike Horowitz
For most of the last four years, OSHA has insisted that a union representative who is not your employee can participate in OSHA inspections at your work site. This spring, that changed when OSHA finally reversed this much-criticized policy. Continue Reading Who’s coming to the (OSHA) inspection party? Just folks on the inside.