After an employer has received a citation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the informal conference process offers a path for potential settlement of the dispute. The informal conference can result in...more
Nature supposedly abhors a vacuum, but does this principle apply to workplace discrimination, worker safety, and other areas of employment and labor law?...more
A broad executive order issued in the first days of the Trump administration has indefinitely delayed a number of changes to safety standards proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration....more
Over the past several months, we have seen an increasing number of new artificial intelligence (AI) products aimed at increasing worker safety in the manufacturing context. Many of these products use real-time data to...more
Last week, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule amending its safety standards for the construction industry to require assurance of the proper fitting of personal protective equipment....more
For years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified fall protection among its top compliance priorities. Falls have been a continuing leading cause of employee injuries and deaths, especially in the...more
As part of the backlash against employer-mandated COVID-19 vaccinations, Montana amended its antidiscrimination law to add vaccination status as a protected category. This means that employers are prohibited from inquiring or...more
On August 30, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its long-anticipated proposed regulation requiring affected employers to plan for and address heat exposure risks in the workplace. The proposed...more
The vast majority of citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration involve accidents or negligent behavior that result in injury or illness resulting from inanimate objects, hazardous materials, or...more
Employers may dread a knock on the door from an Occupational Safety and Health investigator, but in many circumstances, the first contact with OSHA is through a letter rather than an in-person inspection. ...more
After years of development, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued proposed regulations last week intended to address employee exposure to dangerous heat and humidity while at work. Affected...more
The intricacies of federal administrative law can feel far removed from business’s day-to-day operations, but the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo could have profound impacts on the...more
For several years, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been working on a safety standard intended to address worker exposure to heat stress and related medical issues. With summer temperatures...more
Most affected employers understand their obligations to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s control of hazardous energy (commonly called “lockout/tagout”) rules found at 29 C.F.R. §1910.147. These...more
Last Friday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued final rules changing the way the agency conducts safety and health inspections. Under the current rule, employees are allowed to have a union...more
On Monday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would replace the current patchwork of safety regulations covering firefighters and other first responders. OSHA...more
Last month, we reported on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s expansion of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). SVEP designation marks employers for a higher number of safety inspections...more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that maximum civil penalties for serious violations would increase from $15,625 to $16,131. The penalties for repeat or willful violations...more
In September 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a directive expanding the scope of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). SVEP singles out employers that OSHA concludes have...more
Employers subject to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections commonly believe that the investigators need to find something to cite to justify the time and resources spent on the investigation....more
In recent months, a number of federal labor and employment agencies have announced new initiatives intended to coordinate and cross-refer enforcement actions. This trend continued last week when the National Labor Relations...more
Beginning January 1, employers in certain industries will need to begin electronic filing of their Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301-Injury and Illness Incident Report. The requirement applies...more
With the end of warmer weather across much of the U.S., the number of OSHA complaints involving heat exposure will decrease until next year. While OSHA continues to report that it is working on a comprehensive heat stress...more
In July, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a National Emphasis Program (NEP) focusing on warehouse and distribution facilities. A NEP is an enforcement initiative put into place when OSHA...more
Last month, the owner of a Colorado construction company pled guilty to criminal manslaughter charges following the death of an employee as the result of a trench collapse. According to the federal Occupational Safety and...more