Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched an indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards National Emphasis Program (NEP). Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh unveiled the NEP on April 13 with Vice President Kamala Harris at a public event at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Training Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. OSHA plans to initiate […]
A Blue Springs, Missouri, contractor is facing $796,817 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for trenching and other safety violations. The agency cited Arrow Plumbing and owner Rick Smith for four willful violations, one repeat violation, and seven serious violations of federal safety standards. The Missouri contractor exposed two workers to the life-threatening […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced it issued a combined 11 serious violations to four employers and proposed penalties totaling $139,427 following a flash fire and subsequent explosion that seriously injured six workers on September 27, 2021, at Westlake Chemicals in Sulphur, Louisiana. The agency cited Turn2 Specialty Companies LLC with four […]
Are you ready for a wave of new federal worker safety and health regulations? OSHA is moving forward with several rulemakings, three of which are healthcare-specific, that could affect many employers. If you’re in the healthcare field, you could be facing a permanent COVID-19 standard based on the agency’s 2021 emergency temporary standard (ETS) and […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has filed suit against an Amsterdam, New York, ophthalmologist for firing an employee who raised concerns about the practice’s failure to implement state-mandated protocols protecting employees from COVID-19 and later filed complaints with state health officials. The DOL’s complaint alleges that, between March and December 2020, an employee expressed […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a Smithfield, Rhode Island, concrete maker for 6 serious safety and health violations, proposing $43,506 in penalties, following a worker fatality investigation. Greenville Ready Mix Concrete Products, Inc., did not establish a lockout/tagout program to prevent the cement truck drum from operating while employees serviced or maintained […]
A federal judge held a New Jersey employer personally liable for $2 million in accumulated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines. An administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission granted the Department of Labor’s (DOL) motion for summary judgment against Juan Quevedo-Garcia, owner and principal of BB Frame LLC, following […]
On February 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it cited an Ohio contractor for the sixth time since 2018, issuing new citations for exposing workers to fall hazards at two separate building sites. ILS Construction of Hartsville, Ohio, faces proposed penalties totaling $237,013. The agency determined that ILS Construction and its owner, […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined Dollar General more than $3.6 million after conducting 55 inspections at Dollar General stores nationwide. On February 23, the agency proposed $683,680 in penalties for violations cited at 3 Mobile, Alabama, locations and $364,629 in penalties following an inspection of a Dalton, Georgia, store. “Dollar General’s […]
The California Senate passed the Climate Corporate Accountability Act (SB 260) on January 26, 2022, which, if passed into law, will require corporations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to report all scopes of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the California secretary of state. Reporting entities. The bill would require businesses with […]