Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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
Moving forward, property management companies (PMC) performing or offering to perform regulated renovations in housing built before 1978 or in child-occupied facilities will be required to obtain certification from the EPA and ensure that renovations in the homes they manage are performed by certified firms and employees trained to use lead-safe work practices. On January […]
Each year, the EPA publishes annual inflationary increases to the fine amounts for civil penalties assessed under its authority. Since 1996, federal agencies have been required to issue regulations adjusting for inflation the statutory civil monetary penalties that can be imposed under the laws administered by that agency. Adjustments to the penalty amounts are regulated […]
As of Wednesday, January 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration withdrew its emergency temporary standard (ETS) that would have mandated COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing/masking requirements for employers with 100 or more employees. After the U.S. Supreme Court last week found the ETS to be an unconstitutional exercise of power and stayed the implementation […]
Effective immediately, the EPA rescinded its March 2, 2020, final rule on the Agency’s procedures for conducting on-site civil inspections on behalf of the EPA. Because the EPA classifies this rulemaking as procedural rather than substantive, there is no required public comment period. The rescinded rule, promulgated in response to the Trump administration’s Executive Order […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a North Point, Florida-based employer following an employee’s heat-related death in the Apalachicola National Forest. Agency inspectors found that Earthbalance Corp. had exposed workers to hazards related to high ambient heat and failed to adequately train someone to perform first aid and ensure he or she was […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited PM Engineered Solutions Inc. of Watertown, Connecticut, with 40 serious and 8 other-than-serious violations and is seeking $236,201 in proposed penalties. The agency inspected the metal fabrication company after an employee was electrocuted on July 14, 2021, while repairing a portable water heater. PM Engineered Solutions lacked […]
On January 14, the Department of Labor (DOL), including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), adjusted its civil penalties for inflation (87 Federal Register (FR) 2328). Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a driver apprenticeship pilot program to allow 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to operate commercial motor vehicles […]
On January 7, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments concerning the COVID-19 vaccine-or-test emergency temporary standard (ETS) issued in November by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Petitioners, which include business groups and several states, want a federal injunction to block OSHA from implementing and enforcing the emergency rule. OSHA earlier announced plans […]
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved publication of proposed changes to compliance history reporting for regulated entities on December 15, 2021. The agency proposes adding a new section (§60.4) to Chapter 60 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), which would “provide a process for the executive director to designate a site’s compliance history […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) began 2022 with new responsibilities and enhanced safety and health enforcement authority. A new state law regarding the use of productivity quotas at warehouse distribution centers requires Cal/OSHA to inform the state’s labor commissioner whenever an employer or a site has an annual employee injury rate […]