The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines a "willful" violation as one where the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety....more
As part of the recent legislative session, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1775, which implements new workplace safety training and certification requirements for entertainment events vendors who produce live events...more
As part of Vandeventer Black’s participation in Construction Safety Week 2022, and with heat increasing in many places (or staying hot in others), we wanted to remind those in the industry of the importance of heat-related...more
According to 2020 OSHA data, there were 976 construction-related fatalities. Of those 88 fatalities included construction supervisors, making it clear that safety awareness is critical for everyone on a project site and not...more
Between the host employer and the staffing agency, who is responsible for the health and safety training of temporary workers? The staffing agency and the host employer jointly employ temporary workers and, therefore, they...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA recently updated its National Emphasis Program on Amputations in Manufacturing Industries (NEP), adding a targeting methodology for industries with high employer-reported amputation statistics....more
In 2009, Nevada implemented mandatory safety training for employees performing work on construction sites. In 2017, Nevada expanded that mandatory safety training to include employees involved in the presentation or...more
On Feb. 1, 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) reversed an OSHA citation issued to Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc., as the controlling employer, for a fall protection violation. In this ruling, the...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
June is National Safety Month, so it’s a good time for operators to step back and take a hard look at their respective safety policies. Not only is this important for employee safety, it can also have a significant impact on...more
Folks who follow my writing know that of the many groups to which I speak, the AGC National Safety Committee is my favorite. I love the industry and I value the clients and contacts who have become friends, even Bob Emmerich,...more
Every time a natural disaster hits, we learn of at least one person who tragically died of a heart attack when placed in a stressful or unusual situation. Sadly, we hear little about the hundreds of thousands of other deaths...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The National STEPS Network provides a working model of an industry wide employee onboarding and safety training program. We attended the World Safety Organization International Environmental and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Companies cannot go to prison, but their executives and managers can when they violate the OSHA laws. And, companies can face stiff fines and other business-disrupting (or ending) collateral consequences...more
Years ago, my employer gave employees a coaster every quarter that the group had no OSHA reportable incidents. Now it would have been in violation to have such a program. Despite criticism from workers compensation carriers...more
The City of Philadelphia has issued new code requirements for construction worker safety training. The new rules went into effect on October 1, 2015, and the Department of Licenses and Inspections has announced that strict...more
The Federal government is engaging tough measures to ensure corporations take safety seriously. First, OSHA is in the process of implementing changes to its penalty calculation system, which includes increasing penalty...more
Take a look around you. There’s a good chance you work at a facility that uses a Powered Industrial Truck (PIT). OSHA defines a PIT as “any mobile power-propelled truck used to carry, push, pull, lift, stack or tier...more
I understand from my conversations with manufacturing executives that many companies need to use staffing agencies in order to locate skilled workers. In most cases, companies will hire the temps that work out after a trial...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the primary federal agency charged with responsibility for enforcing workplace health and safety regulations, has been very active under the Obama Administration. In...more
Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised the hazard communication requirements to adopt international standards concerning the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals and the format of...more
On April 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a memorandum to regional administrators regarding the obligation of employers to protect temporary workers from...more
Does your company use temporary workers? OSHA has issued a new memorandum regarding the use of temporary workers. In this memorandum, OSHA has stated that it will be reviewing the use of temporary workers...more
On April 29, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced an initiative to protect temporary employees from workplace hazards. The initiative, announced through a press release and a...more
OSHA has issued a new memorandum regarding the use of temporary workers. See, April 29, 2013 memorandum from Richard Fairfax. ...more