I recently talked to a group of managers about misusing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the resulting safety and performance problems. Issues raised, included...
• Employees justifying bad judgment by claiming...more
In a significant victory for employers, a federal appeals court recently limited OSHA’s ability to expand accident investigations beyond their original and intended scope. The 11th Circuit’s decision in United States v....more
10/18/2018
/ Appeals ,
General Duty Clause ,
Motions to Quash ,
OSHA ,
Probable Cause ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Search Warrant ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury
Oct. 9, 2018 We've waited for over a year to learn if the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals would uphold an earlier court decision saying that OSHA could not expand an injury-based inspection by arguing that injury records and an...more
10/10/2018
/ Chemicals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Motions to Quash ,
OSHA ,
Probable Cause ,
Safety Inspections ,
Search Warrant ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
I handled my first combustible dust case in the late 80s and long before I worked at the Imperial Sugar plant event, I had learned about the fickle and never-to-be-taken lightly risks associated with combustible dust....more
7/13/2018
/ Combustible Dust ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fires ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
OSHA ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Safety Data Sheets ,
Safety Inspections ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
We updated you about OSHA’s new Weighted Inspection Program in our October 3 post, “What’s the Real Effect of OSHA’s Revamped Inspection Process, the Enforcement Weighing System?” A BNA piece tonight summed up the...more
On October 1, OSHA started its “Enforcement Weighing System,” which means that OSHA Compliance Officers and Area Offices will be under less pressure to complete a number of inspections and will receive credit for separate...more
10/5/2015
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Distributors ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Manufacturers ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safety Inspections ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Temporary Employees ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Violence
Many articles on handling OSHA inspections provide the same basic guidelines and little explanation of why employers should take certain steps. You already know to take photos whenever the Compliance Officer (CO) takes shots...more