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.
Free Special Report: What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection
On June 27, 2022, EPA Region 2 issued an Administrative Compliance Order to The Cliff Corp. and Grupo Caribe, LLC, to stop discharges of stormwater and runoff coming from their hotel and country club construction project in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, from flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Upon investigation of the site, the EPA found inadequate […]
There is more to safety and health than dealing with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections, citations, and penalties. Workers’ compensation is the other side of it. Workers’ compensation claims are much more common than OSHA inspections. Responsibility for ensuring regulatory compliance and administering workers’ compensation may sometimes fall on separate departments—environment, health, and […]
In response to a rise in trenching and excavation fatalities—22 workers have suffered fatal injuries in trenching and excavation work so far this year, surpassing the 15 fatalities in all of 2021—the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced plans for 1,000 excavation inspections. The 22 deaths represent a 68% increase over 2021. Agency compliance […]
The EPA’s proposed expanded Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) program to further reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from large industrial sources includes an allowance-based trading program for 25 states. This action is expected to resolve the good neighbor provisions for those states in meeting the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for NOx. The […]
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) area offices in Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Florida, cited two employers following workplace fatalities. The agency’s Fort Lauderdale office cited Fleming Island, Florida-based Ballhawker of Florida Inc. with 12 serious violations after a 26-year-old diver drowned in a pond on a Ponte Vedra Beach golf course. OSHA is seeking […]
Thirteen organizations, led by environmental advocacy heavy hitters Earthjustice, Environmental Integrity Project, and the Sierra Club, petitioned the EPA on June 28, 2022, urging the Agency “to take action in Texas, where the state’s air permitting program has for years failed to meet public participation and environmental justice obligations under federal environmental and civil rights […]
On July 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced citations for violations at a Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Dollar General store the agency had cited a year earlier. OSHA is seeking new penalties totaling $136,741. Responding to a complaint, the agency began an inspection at the store on December 28, 2021, and found conditions similar […]
On June 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is extending its National Emphasis Program (NEP) for COVID-19 until further notice. The NEP was set to expire July 7. The agency also announced it is temporarily increasing its coronavirus inspection goal from 5% of inspections to 10% while it works to finalize […]
On June 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced citations for two repeat, four serious, and two other-than-serious violations found during a Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) follow-up inspection. Employers included in the agency’s SVEP are subject to mandatory follow-up inspections and increased agency pressure to abate cited hazards. General Aluminum Mfg. Company […]
A federal jury found that a Massachusetts employer and his company retaliated against an employee who reported an on-the-job injury, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced on June 22. The jury awarded $650,000 in damages—$600,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages—in the case. The DOL filed a lawsuit in February 2019 against Tara […]