Even the most experienced employers are sure to have questions from time to time about the nation’s workplace safety agency – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). That’s where we come in. The Fisher...more
2/15/2024
/ Appeals ,
Citations ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Discovery ,
Electronic Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
New Rules ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
With maximum limits for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties increasing every year, knowing what to do when OSHA arrives at your door is more important than ever. That’s why we’re releasing this...more
With maximum limits for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties increasing every year – currently over $15,000 for serious/other than serious citations and more than $150,000 for a repeat and willful –...more
When Fisher Phillips attorneys recently secured a key victory over a state OSHA plan that was improperly trying to create a quota system to encourage investigators to issue citations and assess penalties, it opened the door...more
With maximum limits for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties increasing every year – currently over $15,000 for serious/other than serious citations and more than $150,000 for a repeat and willful –...more
Even the most experienced employers are sure to have questions from time to time about the nation’s workplace safety agency – the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). That’s where we come in. The Fisher...more
11/15/2022
/ Appeals ,
Citations ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Discovery ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Employers may be surprised to learn that North Carolina OSHA’s maximum penalties more than doubled on October 1 — and these penalties will increase every January, starting in 2023, to match the maximum penalties available to...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic (mercifully) starts to retreat, many states have begun rolling back face-covering mandates, which often relieve employers of the obligation to require masks for employees and visitors in the...more
5/10/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Citations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
General Duty Clause ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Safety
Media outlets announced Saturday that Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. If the legal challenges to the election result fail and he is inaugurated in January, President-Elect Biden can begin taking...more
11/10/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Citations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Illness and Injury Reporting ,
Workplace Safety
When an inspector from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) shows up at your workplace, know this: everything—and we mean everything—that a manager or supervisor says at any point to the inspector will...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted an inspection of your facility. OSHA issues a serious citation to your company for a machine guarding violation, despite the fact the OSHA investigator did...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has conducted an inspection of your plant after one of your employees amputated part of his finger trying to clean around a sprocket with the machine still running. ...more
3/27/2019
/ Citations ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Inadmissible Evidence ,
Litigation Strategies ,
OSHA ,
Settlement Conferences ,
Settlement Offer ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Witness Statements ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Investigations
While it is not comparable to David Letterman’s Top 10 lists, at a recent industry gathering, OSHA announced its annual top 10 violations for fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018). For those who have...more
11/16/2018
/ Citations ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Contractors ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Training ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
After the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Jones Brothers, Inc. v. Sec’y of Labor, citations upheld by administrative law judges within the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (“FMSHRC”) may be...more
8/3/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appointments Clause ,
Citations ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Over the last few years, there has been debate regarding whether ALJs are “inferior officers” under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. This provision provides that officers, including inferior officers, may only be...more
8/2/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Citations ,
Coal Industry ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Two recent cases should remind employers to contest OSHA citations quickly to prevent the citations from becoming final. It’s an uphill battle if your notice of contest is submitted late.
Employers Have 15 Working Days to...more
On February 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new interim enforcement procedures, provided below, regarding failure to submit electronic injury and illness records.
In 2016, OSHA adopted a...more
Until 2015, it was the practice of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to look back only three years to establish “repeat” violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). In 2015, OSHA...more
It’s that time of year again: for employers to celebrate the successes of the prior year and make plans and resolutions for the new one. But OSHA and MSHA are making New Year’s resolutions, too, and employers are well-advised...more
12/11/2017
/ Budget Cuts ,
Citations ,
Consultation ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Inspections ,
Investigations ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
OSHA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safety Standards ,
Silica ,
Trump Administration ,
Willful Violations ,
Workplace Exam Standards ,
Workplace Safety
One of the fascinating things about an OSHA citation defense practice is the distinctions you see in prosecution by Federal OSHA versus state plans. It is very unusual in the legal world to have the same laws enforced by...more