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
A pair of employers are facing six-figure Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties following workplace explosions. Air Liquide Advanced Materials, Inc., of High Springs, Florida, a global manufacturer of industrial gas, faces $201,573 in penalties following a May 2023 explosion that severely injured several employees, OSHA announced November 16. The employer could have prevented […]
Dynamic Tool Co. Inc., an El Paso, Texas, machine shop and precision parts manufacturer, faces $596,221 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties, the agency announced November 14. OSHA cited Dynamic Tool with 58 workplace safety and health violations, including two willful safety violations and one willful health violation. The agency determined that Dynamic Tool […]
On November 9, 2023, the EPA announced SA Recycling LLC of St. Louis, Missouri, will pay $68,000 in civil penalties to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). According to the Agency, the company failed to adequately control stormwater runoff from its scrap metal recycling and processing facility. The EPA says these […]
Manufacturer 3M Company faces $312,518 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after an employee at the company’s Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, facility became caught in a machine’s rotating rollers and suffered fatal injuries, OSHA announced November 7. The agency cited the company with two willful safety violations. The incident followed the company’s assessment […]
A 34-year-old steel worker suffered a fatal 60-foot fall at the site of a Hyundai electric car plant in Ellabell, Georgia. Geismar, Louisiana-based Eastern Constructors Inc. now faces $160,724 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties for one willful and one serious violation, the agency announced November 2. Because of the company’s “plain indifference” and […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) construction industry fall protection standard was the agency’s most frequently cited standard for the 13th straight year, the agency announced October 24 at the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo in New Orleans. Eric Harbin, OSHA’s Region 6 (Dallas) administrator, unveiled preliminary data for the agency’s […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) signed an agreement outlining procedures for information-sharing, referrals, training, and outreach to bolster federal antiretaliation protections and strengthen the agencies’ partnership, OSHA and the NLRB announced October 31. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) enables OSHA and the Board to cooperate in […]
In the ongoing battle against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, U.S. District Judge James Dever of the Eastern District of North Carolina certified two classes of plaintiffs in a lawsuit claiming Chemours Co. and DuPont discharged wastewater containing PFAS and GenX chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” into the Cape Fear River, exposing as […]
Do you know which standards the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cites most often? Do you know which ones it enforces so vigorously that it issues instance-by-instance citations? At the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo in New Orleans last week, OSHA’s Region 6 (Dallas) administrator, Eric Harbin, announced the agency’s Top […]
Florida grocer Kissimmee Meat & Produce Inc. faces $95,315 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines following a 65-year-old clerk’s fatal fall from a defective ladder, the agency announced October 27. OSHA cited the employer for 11 serious safety violations. OSHA inspectors found that the employee fell about 9 feet when a ladder rolled […]