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
OSHA has cited Prestress Services Industries of Ohio, LLC, for 20 safety and health violations at its concrete production plant in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The agency is seeking penalties of $158,555. The employer is contesting the citations.
What have OSHA’s compliance officers been up to lately? Take a look at some of the more significant enforcement cases from the past several months to find out. From the usual suspects like fall hazards and excavations to some less typical cases, recent enforcement activity illustrates the importance of a strong safety and health program […]
In Q3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized 158 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. There was a definitive increase in enforcement actions, with only 106 penalties issued in the previous quarter. Here we highlight some of the biggest fines.
OSHA has replaced its Enforcement Weighting System (EWS) with a new OSHA Weighting System (OWS) to encourage its field staff to conduct compliance assistance activities, in addition to performing enforcement inspections to reduce the deadliest workplace hazards.
OSHA cited four Idaho Dollar Tree locations for blocked walkways and exit routes and unsafe storage of merchandise. The agency has proposed penalties totaling $898,682.
Requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) do not apply to a business exclusively owned and operated by a Native American tribe, an administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled. The decision of an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) ALJ vacates citations and penalties issued by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and […]
Surprise! An OSHA inspector just showed up at your door. Take this quiz to see how knowledgeable you are about OSHA inspection visits. Take the quiz here.
At the 2019 National Safety Council Congress & Expo in San Diego, California, Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, presented the agency’s top 10 violations for fiscal year (FY) 2019 to a standing-room-only crowd of safety professionals. The order may have changed slightly, but the list remain remains the same as […]
A Pennsylvania manufacturer must pay $1,047,399 in lost wages and punitive damages to two former employees fired in retaliation for cooperating in a federal safety investigation.
The applicability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Risk Management Program (RMP) is reasonably clear, but facilities with chemicals in amounts less than the RMP thresholds are finding themselves in trouble with the EPA because they are overlooking EPA’s General Duty Clause (42 U.S. Code 7412(r)(1)). Several times over the last 6 months the […]