Every presidential administration has its priorities, and President Trump’s is no different. President Trump has put his stamp on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by stalling, delaying, or modifying...more
This past Memorial Day weekend, the southeastern region of the United States experienced a historic heatwave that set all-time records. It’s only going to get hotter, and temperatures throughout the summer can create hazards...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
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), employers have a right to be given the opportunity to accompany an OSHA compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) during an inspection of the workplace.
In...more
An accident happens at your workplace, leading to an employee injury. During the hectic response, incorrect information funnels its way up to the safety director charged with notifying OSHA of reportable injuries and...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
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), motor vehicle crashes cost employers $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage, and lost productivity. Motor vehicle crashes...more
3/8/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Distracted Driving ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
General Duty Clause ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Traveling Employee ,
Workplace Safety
An accident happens at your workplace, and an employee is injured. During the hectic response, incorrect information funnels its way up to the safety director or person charged with notifying OSHA of reportable injuries and...more
An accident happens and an employee is seriously injured and admitted to the hospital. Not only does the company need to conduct an investigation into what happened, but it must report the injury to OSHA as well. During its...more
Employers will be facing higher penalties from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“Fed-OSHA”) in 2019. On January 15, 2019, Fed-OSHA announced that it plans to increase the maximum penalty an employer...more
As of Saturday, the current federal government shutdown became the longest in our nation’s history—and employers are starting to feel the sting. While the peculiarities of the federal budget process meant that this shutdown...more
1/14/2019
/ Anti-Deficiency Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
With the threat of a partial government shutdown looming on December 21, employers are left wondering which government agencies will be impacted if the shutdown occurs. Presently, departments in the following areas will be...more
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
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
At a recent national safety conference for the industry, the acting head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) remarked that the agency is focusing on the use of peracetic acid in the poultry industry....more
It’s August, and it’s hot outside. Even Congress, which has a high tolerance for hot air, is taking a month’s long recess to avoid the hot and humid DC swamp. This has not stopped the lobbying process, however, as Public...more
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)
On October 27, 2017, Scott Mugno was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the agency’s assistant secretary of labor. Mugno is the former head of Federal...more
It might sound crazy, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) may now be receiving whistleblower complaints over the phone. This follows a recent ruling from a federal court in Wisconsin, which made it...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) just warned employers that it will take note of worksites that electronically report their 2017 OSHA 300A information after the July 1, 2018 deadline. The agency...more
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
Administrative Law Judges are increasingly exercising their discretion to waive mandatory settlement conferences for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citation contests with large penalties. The increased...more
On April 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Fed-OSHA) reversed course and issued a press release announcing that employers in all state-plan states must implement Fed-OSHA’s new electronic recordkeeping...more
As mass shootings have continued with regular frequency in the United States, our country remains deeply divided, not only with the cause of these tragic events, but also on how to stop them from occurring. Many have called...more
2/27/2018
/ Civil Liability ,
Concealed Weapons ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Firearms ,
General Duty Clause ,
Gun Laws ,
Liability Insurance ,
Mass Shootings ,
Negligence ,
OSHA ,
Risk Assessment ,
Workplace Violence
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