Over the last week, the Trump administration has put forward its nominees for Assistant Secretary for both the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Health and Safety Administration (MSHA).
On January 10, 2025, the Department of Labor’s annual penalty adjustments were published in the Federal Register. The 2025 increases are approximately 2.6%. The chart below applies to any penalties assessed after January 15, 2025, including penalties whose associated violations occurred before that date.
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MSHA announced it will hold a series of stakeholder meetings across the country to share information about the final silica rule issued on April 18, 2024. The first two meetings are scheduled for Arlington, VA on July 10, 2024, and Beckley, WV on July 17, 2024, and will be both an in-person and an online
The Acting Secretary of Labor appeared with the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health, Chris Williamson and union leaders on April 16th at an event in Uniontown, PA to announce the release of MSHA’s final respirable crystalline silica rule to the public. Although President Biden was campaigning in Scranton, PA, he did not make an appearance at the event.
MSHA has posted a template for compliance assistance with the Surface Mobile Equipment Rule. MSHA will begin to enforce the standard on July 17, 2024. The standard does not require operators to submit their plan to the agency, but the plans will be reviewed during inspections. As a reminder, your surface mobile equipment safety programs
The average mining operator now spends over $20,000 per year on citations and penalties. In this must-attend cost-savings workshop, learn how to reduce or eliminate fines—with the added benefit of improved safety conditions. In an era of increasing citations, this workshop will prepare you to handle Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors and challenge citations.
On December 19, 2023, MSHA announced a final rule to have written safety programs for surface mobile equipment (excluding belt conveyers) at surface mines and surface areas of underground mines.
Both the Part 56 and Part 57 rule requires:
MSHA has published the proposed silica rule on their website. Among other things, MSHA proposes to set the permissible exposure limit of respirable crystalline silica at 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) for a full shift exposure, calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average for all miners.
According to Bloomberg Law, Assistant Secretary of Labor for MSHA, Chris Williamson, has stated that beginning this month the agency will resume a practice that ended in 2020 – publicizing the names of mines targeted for impact inspections. Every month, MSHA conducts targeted inspections at mines that according to the agency merit increased attention due to their compliance history or “certain compliance concerns.” Past monthly targeted inspection results are published on the MSHA website.
The average mine operator now spends over $20,000 per year on citations and penalties. In this must-attend conference, learn how to reduce or eliminate fines with the added benefit of improved safety conditions. Within the context of increasing citations, this workshop will prepare you to handle Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors and their findings.