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.
The following are updates on recent policy and rulemaking efforts by the agency. Please reach out to your Husch Blackwell workplace and health contact with any questions.
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 29, 2023, concerning who employees can authorize to act as their representative during Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) workplace inspections.
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.
On May 1, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it has begun a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to prevent and reduce fall-related injuries and fatalities for people working at heights in all industries.
Back in January, we posted about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) intention to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel (“SBAR Panel”). This Panel would help decide whether OSHA should enact a Prevention of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance standard.
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.
New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement guidance set to take effect on March 27, 2023, will expand OSHA’s authority to issue instance-by-instance, or “IBI,” citations. Since 1990, OSHA has issued such IBI citations only upon finding “egregious willful violations,” but the new guidance – set forth in OSHA’s January 26, 2023 memorandum – permits OSHA to issue IBI citations for certain “high-gravity” serious violations.