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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On August 22, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced it has ramped up its recruitment, hiring more staff for its Bureau of Investigations (BOI). The unit is responsible for investigations related to the most serious workplace injuries in the state, including worker deaths, and makes recommendations for criminal prosecutions. “The Bureau […]
On August 8, 2024, the EPA announced it finalized updates to strengthen the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) Standard, which identifies the requirements that products and their ingredients must meet to earn the Agency’s Safer Choice label or DfE logo. These updates increase the criteria products must meet to qualify for the […]
The EPA and the Department of Justice recently announced a settlement with Houston-based Marathon Oil Company, resolving Clean Air Act (CAA) violations at the company’s oil and gas production operations on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. “The settlement requires that Marathon pay a civil penalty of $64.5 million, the largest ever for […]
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials have ordered the Dallas area location of a national childcare provider to reinstate an employee and pay $43,295 in back wages and damages after firing the employee for reporting concerns about unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the facility’s kitchen to Texas health officials, the agency announced August 22. […]
Poultry processor Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC reached a settlement with the Department of Labor (DOL), agreeing to pay $164,814 in fines and implement enhanced safety measures to protect its employees from well-known machine hazards, the department announced August 14. In July 2023, a teenage worker at the company’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi, facility became caught in a […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues its work on six economically significant rulemakings, according to an August 16 Department of Labor (DOL) notice (89 Fed. Reg. 66838). The notice outlines all the DOL’s rulemakings with a significant economic impact on a large number of small entities. All six of OSHA’s economically significant rulemakings […]
Convenience store chain Circle K faces a $16,131 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fine after a store cashier in Orlando, Florida, suffered a serious gunshot injury, the agency announced August 14. OSHA inspectors learned that two unidentified men entered the Circle K location on Silver Star Road shortly after 1 a.m. on January 19, 2024; […]
Twenty-six Republicans, led by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA), recently sent a letter to the EPA expressing concern that the Clean Power Plan (CPP) 2.0 is likely to threaten the reliability of the PJM Interconnection grid, which serves 65 million customers across Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, […]
A federal court ruled an Amsterdam, New York, eye doctor illegally fired an employee who reported a lack of COVID-19 protections to state health officials, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced August 12. An OSHA whistleblower investigation found that the doctor and his practice retaliated against an employee for filing complaints with the […]
While it continues to work on new standards on heat stress and infectious disease, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is emphasizing its willingness to work with businesses to improve worker protection. Speaking last week at the American Society of Safety Professionals’ (ASSP) Safety 2024 conference, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and […]