On October 10, OSHA resumed regular enforcement throughout Texas and Louisiana, having suspended programmed activity in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
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After the storms hit last month, the safety agency provided compliance assistance and outreach to employers and workers in a number of counties and parishes. This enabled OSHA staff to deliver faster and more flexible responses to hazards facing workers involved in the cleanup and recovery.
According to OSHA, thousands of crews and individual workers received technical assistance on job safety and health matters. Throughout the period, OSHA retained the right to inspect cases involving fatalities, catastrophic accidents, employee complaints, and employers who repeatedly exposed workers to serious hazards during cleanup and recovery operations.
Explains regional administrator Kelly Knighton, “For those areas most heavily impacted by Hurricane Harvey, we will continue to provide employers and workers with compliance assistance and outreach. We will be monitoring these areas closely, and as they transition from cleanup and recovery to normal operations so will OSHA’s enforcement.”
Employers and employees working in the affected areas who have questions may call OSHA’s toll-free hotline (800) 321-6742.