News & Analysis as of June 1, 2025

General Duty Clause

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The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is a United States federal agency established in 1970 by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. OSHA is part of the Department of Labor and is charged with assuring healthy, safe, working environments. OSHA sets and enforces safety standards and policies. Examples of OSHA's duties include setting limits on workers' exposure to hazardous substances, ensuring workers have access to safety information and protective equipment, and providing employers and workers proper training to prevent dangerous conditions. less -

Recent Federal OSHA Workplace Violence Case Provides a Road Map on General Duty Clause in Workplace Violence Cases

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 2/14/2025

On October 25, 2021, a customer named Jacob Bergquist, with a history of violating the Boise Towne Square Mall’s firearms ban, opened fire at the mall. The shooting in the Idaho mall led to the deaths of a Professional...more

OSHRC ALJ Vacates Workplace Violence General Duty Citation

Cozen O'Connor on 2/5/2025

By Order dated December 26, 2024, ALJ Brian Duncan vacated a general duty clause violation against a security company that provided security services to a mall. In the tragic shooting, a customer shot and killed two people...more

Eleventh Circuit Limits General Duty Clause’s Applicability When a Specific Safety Standard Exists for a Particular Hazard

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/21/2023

On May 30, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a significant decision addressing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) use of the “General Duty Clause.” The decision limits...more

OSHA Fails to Prove Feasible, Effective Abatement for Excessive Heat Hazard, Commission Rules

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 3/7/2023

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) successfully established the existence of an excessive heat hazard for which the agency cited the employer, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC)...more

Judge Finds No Scientific Basis for NWS Heat Index Chart Used by OSHA in Heat Stress Cases

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 7/21/2020

An administrative law judge of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission held this week that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had failed to show that a document the agency used...more

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: D.C. Circuit Holds Employer That Failed to Implement Its Own Safety Program Violated the General...

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/6/2020

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently issued a decision that should be of concern to every employer and safety professional. The case involved an employer that had ambitious but...more

OSHRC’s recent ruling provides important guidance for employers on heat exposure and the general duty clause

Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP on 4/16/2019

On Feb. 28 the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) reversed a citation issued to A.H. Sturgill Roofing, Inc. for the heat-related death of an employee, finding that all of the elements of proof of the...more

Commission Decisions Confirm that Employers Must Take Action to Protect Employees from Workplace Violence

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 3/27/2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: In recent decisions—including Secretary of Labor v. Integra Health Management, Inc., No. 13-1124 (OSHRC Mar. 4, 2019)—the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has upheld violations of...more

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration › Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) › General Duty Clause

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