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
On March 29, 2024, OSHA released the final version of its new rule that could reshape future OSHA inspections.
In 2021, there was a mass shooting at a high school in Michigan in which four students were killed. As a result of this shooting, not only was the shooter prosecuted, but the parents of the shooter were charged with criminal liability by their failure to take ordinary care to act appropriately, and are, therefore, being tried for four counts of involuntary manslaughter. The mother was recently convicted.
Other parents in the last few months have pled guilty to charges of reckless conduct or neglect in these situations. Given this pattern, it is reasonably foreseeable that employers—if such shootings take place in the workplace—may also be prosecuted or subject to stiff personal injury claims due to shootings in the workplace, if they do not follow at least the minimum standards as set out in state law regarding restrictions on weapons in the workplace.
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.
Remember injury and illness data must be reported to OSHA electronically by March 2, 2024. OSHA does not send out notifications or reminders to establishments to report injury and illness data (i.e., required data from the Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report).
On December 11, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced that it will be “replacing traditional hard hats used by its employees with more modern safety helmets.”
On December 21, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) unveiled an unofficial version of its proposed Emergency Response Rule. The Emergency Response Rule, if finalized, would replace an existing rule applicable to firefighters with a much broader rule that also covers emergency medical personnel and search-and-rescue workers. The Rule aims to resolve what the agency has described as a “patchwork” of unrelated standards for emergency workers and will address a variety of workplace hazards, including exposure to toxic chemicals, equipment failures, infectious diseases, and the mental health impact of first-responder positions.
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:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released its latest regulatory agenda on December 11, 2023. According to the agenda, OSHA intends to advance several long-promised rules in either the final days of 2023 or early 2024.