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 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 […]
On February 3, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it cited a northeast Texas sawmill and pallet manufacturer with 13 safety and health violations following a federal investigation into fatal injuries suffered by an 86-year-old worker. The agency is seeking $389,706 in proposed penalties. OSHA cited W.D. Townley and Son Lumber Company Inc. […]
The EPA announced a settlement with Par Hawaii Refining LLC on January 19 that included a $176,899 penalty over Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and Clean Air Act (CAA) violations at its oil refining facility in Kapolei, Hawaii. The company’s EPCRA violations included “failures to immediately notify the state emergency response commission and […]
Moving forward, property management companies (PMC) performing or offering to perform regulated renovations in housing built before 1978 or in child-occupied facilities will be required to obtain certification from the EPA and ensure that renovations in the homes they manage are performed by certified firms and employees trained to use lead-safe work practices. On January […]
Each year, the EPA publishes annual inflationary increases to the fine amounts for civil penalties assessed under its authority. Since 1996, federal agencies have been required to issue regulations adjusting for inflation the statutory civil monetary penalties that can be imposed under the laws administered by that agency. Adjustments to the penalty amounts are regulated […]