As part of its “Blurring the Lines” initiative, MSHA is now implementing plans to dramatically change its internal organization for enforcement and has released a map showing the new hierarchy. Before, individual coal and metal/non-metal districts reported directly to a coal or metal/non-metal administrator at headquarters in Arlington. Now, MSHA will divide the country into three regions, with each district (whether coal or metal/non-metal) reporting to a single regional administrator.
As cable news hysteria continues to spread far faster than the novel coronavirus itself, government agencies are issuing alerts, and many employers are wondering what – if anything – they should be doing to protect their workers. What should your company do?
With fatalities at record lows, how can MSHA take a different approach to safety in 2019? In the recent Rock Products magazine, I considered MSHA’s traditional approach to its role as regulator and offered some thoughts on new directions in the year ahead.
Want to explore how far you can go with online OSHA training? We’re excited to announce that we’re working with SitePro and NIP Group to host a webinar on February 20th, 2020 at 2pm ET / 11 am PT entitled The Limits of Online Training for OSHA Compliance.
It’s that time of year again! OSHA and MSHA penalties were automatically adjusted this month. What will safety and health enforcement cost you in 2020? Read on.
MSHA’s much-contested new rule is now in effect and being enforced even while a court challenge continues. MSHA has tried to clarify the rule, but many questions remain unanswered.
The Department of Labor’s Inspector General (IG) set out to answer a very specific question: Have MSHA’s civil penalties deterred unsafe mine operations? That seems like a fair question, given that MSHA has assessed more than $1 billion and collected more than $800 million in civil monetary penalties since 2000.
When medical marijuana first started to become legal, mine operators responded in a similar way. Most mines continue to have a zero tolerance policy for both applicants and current employees for several good reasons. But, as local legalization spreads across the country, state laws and recent court decisions are creating challenges for employers.
What does a legal column have to do with Humpty Dumpty or the zombie apocalypse? The answer lies in the Supreme Court’s Kisor v. Wilkie decision, which could change the way courts (including the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission) decide what regulations really mean.
Since the 1990s, videos and computers have become increasingly popular tools for safety and health training. Along the way, OSHA has raised concerns more than once about what it sees as the limits of online training for complying with agency standards. While OSHA repeated those concerns again earlier this year, it also appears ready for a new approach. What does OSHA say now about online training, and where may it be headed?