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
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) October 7 issued a final rule closing a loophole in the enforcement of the agency’s drug and alcohol regulations by requiring states to deny or downgrade commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) or learner’s permits for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers with drug or alcohol violations (86 FR 55718). Under […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) will have expanded enforcement authority starting January 1, 2022, with the creation of two new classes of violations: enterprisewide and egregious. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) recently signed S.B. 606 into law, authorizing the new citation and penalty authority. If a cited employer has multiple worksites, there […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Tootsie Roll Industries LLC for a willful violation of the machine guarding standard after a 48-year-old worker suffered a partial finger amputation after the employer allowed bypassed safety locks on a machine’s access doors that enabled a bag sealer to close on the employee’s finger. The agency […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Denver area office announced employer citations in separate worker fatalities. OSHA cited JBS Foods’ Swift Beef Co. facility in Greeley, Colorado, for eight serious violations related to an unsafe lifting process and for hazardous chemical and training violations following the death of a worker who was installing a […]
A Ravenna, Ohio, aluminum parts manufacturer is facing $1,671,738 in penalties for 38 safety and health violations following an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation into a worker’s death. On March 30, a 43-year-old worker was loading a part into a machine when the barrier door closed on his head. General Aluminum Mfg. Company […]
Congress enacted the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act on December 27, 2021, which gives the EPA authority to: Phase down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). Maximize reclamation, and minimize HFC releases from equipment. Facilitate the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions on HFCs. The final rule, issued by the EPA in late […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to comply with the regulations put into place to ensure workers’ occupational safety and health or else receive penalty fines. The main method to assess a company’s compliance is by conducting an inspection. There are four main stages of an OSHA inspection: the credential presentation the […]
Changes to California’s Proposition 65 (Prop 65) short-form warning label regulations are expected soon. Once adopted, impacted industry will have one year to comply with the amendments. Prop 65 requires warning labels to be placed on products sold in California that expose consumers to chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive or developmental toxicity. The […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited a masonry and stucco contractor in Fort Worth, Texas, and a roofer in Orwell, Ohio, for exposing employees to fall hazards; the agency proposed six-figure penalties for each employer. OSHA September 17 cited RM Masonry and Stucco Inc. of Fort Worth for exposing workers to fall […]
The EPA announced it transmitted the final 2020 Missouri Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303 (d) List of Impaired Waters to the state on September 13, 2021. CWA Section 303(d) requires states to submit their lists of impaired waters to the EPA for approval every two years. “The 303(d) List is an important water quality […]