Category: Enforcement and Inspection

As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.

Free Special Report: What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection

Back to Basics: A Look at Construction’s ‘Fatal Four’ Safety Hazards

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine the most dangerous construction safety hazards. Are you familiar with the construction industry’s deadliest safety hazards? The “fatal four” or “focus four” safety hazards are caught-in/-between hazards, electrocution, falls, and struck-by […]

SCOTUS Hears Case Over San Francisco’s Wastewater Discharges

Arguments in City and County of San Francisco v. EPA were heard before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in October. The question before SCOTUS is whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) allows the EPA (or an authorized state) “to impose generic prohibitions in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits that subject […]

New Jersey Bakery Facing $385K in OSHA Fines

Valenti’s Bakery LLC of Paterson, New Jersey, is facing $194,691 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines following a follow-up inspection, the agency announced November 19. The employer now faces a total of $385,221 in OSHA fines. The agency performed a follow-up inspection in May after the employer failed to prove it had […]

Syracuse Foundry Facing Nearly $1 Million in OSHA Penalties

A Syracuse, New York, iron foundry faces accumulated penalties of nearly $1 million after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) again cited the employer for workplace health and safety violations, the agency announced November 15. Frazer & Jones LLC operates one of the nation’s largest ductile and malleable iron foundries, which has been operating […]

NIOSH Director: Employers Should Address Drowsy Driving

Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), encouraged employers to take advantage of institute resources for addressing drowsy driving. In his “From the Director’s Desk” column in the institute’s November eNews newsletter, he cited a 2017 analysis showing that 37% of U.S. workers get less than the recommended […]

Time to Prepare for the Trump Wave of Change in EPA Regulations: Part 2

Regulated industry is breathing a collective sigh of relief with Donald Trump’s win of a second term as president of the United States, knowing deregulation is certainly on the way. Having already seen one Trump administration in action, it’s fairly easy to predict some expected changes in environmental policy that will result from a Trump […]

Time to Prepare for the Trump Wave of Change in EPA Regulations: Part 1

Regulated industry is breathing a collective sigh of relief with Donald Trump’s win of a second term as president of the United States, knowing deregulation is certainly on the way. Having already seen one Trump administration in action, it’s fairly easy to predict some changes in environmental policy that will result from a Trump 2.0 […]

EPA Issues Additional HFC Regulations

The EPA recently issued a final rule establishing an emissions reduction and reclamation program for the management of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that includes: The regulation will impact a wide variety of industries, including those working in refrigeration, air conditioning, refrigerated transport, heat pumps, supermarkets, manufacturing, and cold storage warehouses. Many other industry types will also be […]

SCOTUS Declines Hold on NSPS Regulation

On October 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) declined to put a hold on a Clean Air Act (CAA) regulation for New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that went into effect on July 8, 2024. The regulation addresses greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs) by: “The justices denied emergency requests […]