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
On April 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a newly issued Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for food processing facilities in Wisconsin. The OSHA outreach, inspection, and enforcement program is aimed at addressing machine and amputation hazards in food manufacturing facilities. From 2014 to 2020, OSHA investigated multiple fatalities, dozens of amputations, fractures, […]
On April 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it issued a hazard alert letter to Amazon after six contractors were fatally injured and another severely injured when a December 10, 2021, tornado struck the company’s Edwardsville, Illinois, warehouse. OSHA is requiring Amazon to review its severe weather emergency procedures. After interviewing Amazon […]
How likely will your facility or worksite be subject to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection? The number of OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) has declined over the past decade, while the number of U.S. businesses has increased, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently pointed out. […]
The EPA is investigating two administrative complaints alleging the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) discriminates based on race in violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The first complaint (No. 01R-22-R6) was filed by Earthjustice and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of Concerned Citizens of St. John […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a West Texas metal fabricator for repeatedly exposing employees to fall, machine, and other safety hazards, placing the employer into the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) and seeking proposed penalties totaling $364,078. On October 18, 2021, OSHA opened an inspection of Kyoei Steel LTD, operating […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched an indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards National Emphasis Program (NEP). Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh unveiled the NEP on April 13 with Vice President Kamala Harris at a public event at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Training Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. OSHA plans to initiate […]
A Blue Springs, Missouri, contractor is facing $796,817 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for trenching and other safety violations. The agency cited Arrow Plumbing and owner Rick Smith for four willful violations, one repeat violation, and seven serious violations of federal safety standards. The Missouri contractor exposed two workers to the life-threatening […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced it issued a combined 11 serious violations to four employers and proposed penalties totaling $139,427 following a flash fire and subsequent explosion that seriously injured six workers on September 27, 2021, at Westlake Chemicals in Sulphur, Louisiana. The agency cited Turn2 Specialty Companies LLC with four […]
Are you ready for a wave of new federal worker safety and health regulations? OSHA is moving forward with several rulemakings, three of which are healthcare-specific, that could affect many employers. If you’re in the healthcare field, you could be facing a permanent COVID-19 standard based on the agency’s 2021 emergency temporary standard (ETS) and […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed suit against an Amsterdam, New York, ophthalmologist for firing an employee who raised concerns about the practice’s failure to implement state-mandated protocols protecting employees from COVID-19 and later filed complaints with state health officials. The DOL’s complaint alleges that, between March and December 2020, an employee expressed […]