Category: Enforcement and Inspection

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.

Free Special Report: What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection

Infographic: Process Safety Management

OSHA has updated its enforcement guidance for the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard. The updated enforcement directive became effective January 24. Here’s what you need to know about PSM compliance.

OSHA Still Working on Six Economically Significant Rules

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to work on six economically significant rulemakings, including developing a workplace violence prevention rule, according to a March 14 Department of Labor (DOL) Federal Register notice (89 Fed. Reg. 18744). An earlier DOL notice omitted a listing of the department’s regulatory flexibility items on its semiannual regulatory […]

Forklift Fatality at Boston’s Logan Airport Nets Serious Citations

Rochester, New York, maintenance firm Oxford Airport Technical Services faces $46,096 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines following the fatal injury of a forklift operator at Boston’s Logan International Airport, the agency announced March 11. According to OSHA, the August 29, 2023, fatality could have been prevented if the employer had used proper […]

Georgia Chemical Manufacturer Facing $289K OSHA Fine

Atlanta chemical manufacturer Southern Industrial Chemicals Inc. (operating as SIC Technologies) is facing $289,439 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties following agency safety and health inspections, OSHA announced March 8. The agency cited the employer with 67 serious violations, and it reported finding both safety and health hazards, like chemical exposures and struck-by […]

New Jersey Frozen Food Plant Facing $551K OSHA Fine

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has again cited Robbinsville, New Jersey, frozen food manufacturer CJ TMI Manufacturing America LLC after a worker suffered an amputation, the agency announced March 6. OSHA cited the employer with four willful, one repeat, and three serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $551,719. The agency has inspected CJ TMI […]

EPA Finalizes TSCA Fees Rule

The EPA recently announced it finalized amendments to the 2018 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Fees Rule that update how the Agency will recover authorized costs of the law’s implementation and ensure collected fees provide the Agency with 25% of authorized costs consistent with direction from Congress. The Agency expects these amendments to strengthen its […]

Realizing the Benefits of Safety Plans

Written safety plans are often the foundation of an organization’s safety program – spelling out safety goals, identifying hazards and controls, outlining standards and training, documenting procedures, specifying roles and responsibilities, and establishing lines and methods of communication and feedback. There are many regulations for which OSHA felt it necessary to require a written safety […]

Back to Basics: OSHA’s Process Safety Management Enforcement

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine compliance with OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard. Is your workplace covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) standard? Application of the PSM standard was covered […]

Georgia Contractor Facing $308K OSHA Fine for Trench Collapse

Macon, Georgia, plumbing contractor Pyles Plumbing and Utility Contractors Inc. faces $308,125 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties following a fatal trench collapse that claimed the life of a 20-year-old worker and hospitalized another, the agency announced February 29. OSHA investigators learned that on August 10, 2023, two employees were installing sewer-line piping […]

‘Demonstrated’ Argument as an Element of BACT Rejected by 5th Circuit

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ) defense of “demonstrated” as an element of imposing best available control technology (BACT) in prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting. CAA regulations The federal Clean Air Act (CAA) authorizes the EPA to establish nationwide air pollution standards, including standards for emissions […]