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On October 16, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) extended the public comment period for the agency’s proposed rule change regarding worker representatives during inspection walkarounds (88 Fed. Reg. 71329). Comments on the August 30 proposal, titled Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process (88 Fed. Reg. 59825), were due October 30, but they’re now due […]
On August 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced proposed changes to its regulations for workplace inspections (88 Fed. Reg. 59793). The proposed rule would clarify provisions and requirements for employee representatives during agency inspectors’ workplace walkarounds. The proposed rule would clarify that employees may authorize another employee or a nonemployee third party […]
Last month, the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) announced fiscal year (FY) 2022 enforcement and compliance accomplishments, which included an increase in inspections of more than 78% over FY 2021, particularly in overburdened environmental justice communities. “Taken together, OECA’s criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement cases reduced, treated or eliminated pollutants by 95 […]
In Humane Society of the U.S. v. USDA, a divided D.C. Circuit Court ruled that an agency must provide notice and an opportunity for comment when withdrawing a rule that has been filed for public inspection but not yet published in the Federal Register. What is public inspection? The National Archives Office of the Federal […]
On June 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is extending its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for COVID-19 until further notice. The NEP was set to expire July 7. The agency also announced it is temporarily increasing its coronavirus inspection goal from 5% of inspections to 10% while it works to finalize […]
On June 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced citations for two repeat, four serious, and two other-than-serious violations found during a Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) follow-up inspection. Employers included in the agency’s SVEP are subject to mandatory follow-up inspections and increased agency pressure to abate cited hazards. General Aluminum Mfg. Company […]
Today we’re getting answers from EHS Hero® experts for two forklift-related questions. First, does OSHA require floor markings to clarify pedestrian walkways where lift traffic may be present? And second, does OSHA require annual forklift inspections? Read on to see what the experts had to say.
At Safety 2020, the annual conference of the American Society of Safety Professionals, presented virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Adele Abrams, Esq., CMSP, President of the Law Office of Adele L. Abrams P.C., and Glenna Smith, CMSP, Director of Consulting and Training at McCraren Compliance, discussed the benefits and potential pitfalls of workplace safety audits […]
The Trump administration extended its campaign to curtail the power of federal agencies to “stifle economic growth and hurt small businesses” into the area of guidance documents. In two Executive Orders (EO) published October 9, 2019, President Donald Trump placed restrictions on the issuance of significant guidance documents as well as on how guidance documents […]
In Q3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized 158 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. There was a definitive increase in enforcement actions, with only 106 penalties issued in the previous quarter. Here we highlight some of the biggest fines.