Every April, organizations across the United States recognize Workplace Violence Awareness Month, an important time to highlight the risks of workplace violence and the steps necessary to prevent it. It is also an opportunity...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
“The Times They Are a-Changin’” isn’t just a Bob Dylan song title—it is also a fairly accurate description of what has been happening in the arena of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the...more
This is a continuation of the eleventh installment in a series of articles intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 and the Occupational Safety and...more
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
This is the eleventh installment in a series of articles intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970 and the Occupational Safety and Health...more
In May 2023, in the wake of a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States that U.S. district courts have jurisdiction to consider structural constitutional claims against administrative agencies, we predicted that the...more
Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must be able prove that the employer should have been aware of hidden dangers to issue citations, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission...more
He’s Running. President Joe Biden announced this week that he will run for reelection in 2024. President Biden has stated that he is the most pro-union president in history, so the Buzz will not be surprised if labor and...more
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
You have the right to contest an OSHA citation, but only if you meet the deadlines. The OSHA Employer Rights & Responsibilities handbook states, “a written Notice of Intent to Contest must be filed with the OSHA area director...more
Normally, OSHA citations are issued only against the corporations which employ workers, not the individuals who own or control them. Thus, corporate entities are generally liable for penalties under the Occupational Safety...more
To state the obvious, the pandemic has resulted in completely unexpected change across the country in so many ways. OSHA’s visibility and role are probably one of the most significant changes to any federal agency. Prior to...more
A Congressional committee has approved maximum penalties of $700,000 per item for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. The move would mean more than a fivefold increase of maximum...more
This past spring, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its intention to implement a new heat illness standard that will apply to indoor environments. The agency said it has manufacturing...more
Cynthia L. Attwood was sworn in as Chair of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (Review Commission), January 20, 2021, following her designation by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Ms. Atwood is very familiar...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has issued three new decisions that appear to continue a favorable trend. On December 31, 2020, the quasi-judicial body overseeing enforcement actions by the...more
On October 27, 2020, the Tenth Circuit upheld a series of OSHA citations that were issued to an oil refining company following a fatal boiler explosion. In doing so, the Tenth Circuit upheld OSHA interpretations that...more
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah) issued an opinion on Tuesday (10/27/2020) that expands the applicability of OSHA’s process-safety-management standard to...more
On September 21, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) unanimously vacated two machine-guard citations levied against employers by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and...more
On September 21, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) unanimously vacated a machine-guarding citation on the ground that the injured operator had deliberately bypassed the guard that the employer...more
Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), a 3-Commisioner panel appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate which hears appeals of contested OSHA cases, issued two decisions vacating...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Commission’s approval of undocumented training provides blueprint for employee misconduct claims for employers going forward....more