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.
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Effective January 1, 2018, employers in Hawaii will be subject to higher civil penalties for violations of workplace safety and health regulations. The change was made to align with federal OSHA, which raised its civil penalties in August 2016 after more than two decades without penalty increases.
On May 31, 2017, a combustible dust explosion at Didion Milling’s corn milling facility in Cambria, Wisconsin, left five workers dead and 1 dozen more seriously injured. In November, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) leveled 14 willful citations—including 8 categorized as “egregious”—and 5 serious citations against the employer, carrying proposed fines of more […]
On May 26, workers at a mixed-use development in Oakland, California, were pouring concrete into elevated formwork when the shoring system supporting the formwork collapsed. The workers fell some 20 feet along with freshly poured concrete, reinforcing steel, timber framework, and tools and equipment. Thirteen workers ended up in the hospital; one worker’s injuries required […]
If you haven’t submitted your completed 2016 300A annual summary data to OSHA yet, don’t worry. The Agency said that it will not take enforcement action against employers who submit their data after the December 15, 2017, but before the December 31, 2017, final entry date. Be sure to submit the required information because the […]
OSHA has cited a Connecticut construction contractor for exposing workers to mercury and respirator hazards while they dismantled a mercury boiler at a New Hampshire worksite. The agency has proposed $329,548 in fines.
Sometimes, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) finds that the problems at one of a company’s facilities are really an issue in all of a company’s facilities. Since 2002, in a small number of such cases, OSHA will seek to enter into a settlement agreement that applies to every one of the company’s facilities. […]
In recent years, employers have moved to cut costs and improve flexibility by using leased and temporary workers. In response, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has created and enforced policies requiring employers to ensure that those workers receive the same protection from occupational hazards as their permanently employed counterparts. A New York recycler […]
American Airlines and Envoy Air will pay $9.8 million in stock, currently valued at over $14 million, and provide other relief to settle a nationwide class disability discrimination lawsuit. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which brought the suit, claims the airlines unlawfully denied reasonable accommodations to hundreds of employees. Envoy Air is described […]
A Nebraska grain-handling cooperative has been cited by OSHA for failing to protect workers from grain bin entrapment and engulfment hazards. The business faces proposed penalties of $373,911.
Every employer knows the importance of complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) regulations that apply to conditions specific to their workplace. Of course, you, as the employer, would like to think that your efforts and expenses in complying will help you avoid a fine for violating an OSHA rule.