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, Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Another 6-Figure Fine from OSHA in Manufacturing

An Ohio manufacturer faces $724,380 in fines following an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection under its Site-Specific Targeting (SST) program. The agency cited Fuyao Glass America Inc. of Moraine, Ohio, with 13 serious violations of safety and health standards, including those for confined spaces, fall protection, hearing protection, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and personal […]

Inspector is taking notes to a notepad in front of a facility.

EHS Enforcement Begins (and Ends) with Your Permits

No one looks forward to the day when the regulatory authority arrives at your facility for an inspection.  Will he or she find issues of noncompliance?  Will an enforcement action or penalty be forthcoming?  But remember, the ultimate goal of the inspector is not to write up a notice of violation but to ensure your […]

OSHA safety concept

Manufacturer Hit with $287,000 in OSHA Fines

OSHA has proposed penalties of $287,212 in its citation of a Long Island, New York, manufacturer. OSHA cited U.S. Nonwovens Corp., a home and personal care fabric product manufacturer with a facility in Hauppauge, New York, for nine serious and four repeat safety and health violations.

EPA, Environmental Protection Agency

OECA Finalizes Policy on EPA-State Enforcement Partnership

The EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) has finalized a policy document titled Enforcing Effective Partnerships Between the EPA and the States in Civil Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Work. The intent of the document is to delineate to the extent possible how the EPA and states that are authorized to implement and enforce […]

carbon monoxide

Employers Cited by Cal/OSHA for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited two employers for serious accident-related safety and health violations after workers were poisoned by carbon monoxide while working in a confined space at San Francisco International Airport.

Chemical plant workers, piping

CSB Cites Chain of Failures in DuPont Plant Deaths

A “chain of failures” in emergency response and process safety management led to the November 2014 deaths of four workers following a methyl mercaptan release at the DuPont Plant in La Porte, Texas, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

Tire manufacturing factory

Tire Maker Put on OSHA’s Severe Violators List

OSHA has added Kumho Tire Georgia Inc. to its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) and is seeking $507,299 in penalties for repeat and serious violations. The agency cited Kumho and its two contractors with 22 workplace safety and health violations.

Roofer, roofing

Roofer Hit with $1.8 Million OSHA Penalty

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking nearly $1.8 million in penalties from a Maine roofing contractor following a worker’s fatal fall. The agency cited Shawn D. Purvis, owner of Purvis Home Improvement Co., Inc., for 17 egregious willful, repeat, and serious workplace safety violations.

Safety inspection, citations

Safety 2019: Successfully Navigate Your Next OSHA Inspection

If OSHA knocked on your door, how would you respond? Would you throw open the doors to your facility and give the inspector free reign, or would you demand that the inspector obtain a warrant before entering? That decision—and the many others that take place throughout the course of an OSHA inspection—can have a major […]