Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Do you have a robust antiretaliation program? Are you prepared for an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) whistleblower investigation? OSHA has had whistleblower protection authority since its beginning. Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established protections for those who file safety and health complaints or participate in inspections or […]
Are you about to be hit with a wave of employee complaints or concerns about protections from workplace COVID-19 exposures?
As state stay-at-home orders begin to lift and workplaces reopen, are you ready for employee concerns about their safety and health in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic? How will you respond if an employee files a complaint with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or a state workplace safety and health agency? Employers must […]
OSHA has ordered Springfield Terminal Railway Inc. to compensate an employee who faced an investigative hearing with possible disciplinary action or termination for reporting an on-the-job injury at its facility in Andover, Massachusetts. OSHA ordered the company to pay the employee $10,000 in compensatory damages, $75,000 in punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
In a memo issued October 11, 2018, OSHA’s acting director of Enforcement Programs has provided a regulatory clarification that appears to ensure employers that they have flexibility to test employees for drugs following reporting by the employees of a workplace injury or incident, as long as it contributes to root cause analysis. Drug testing under […]
OSHA’s proposed revisions to the 2016 final rule to Improve the Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses have cleared the Office of Management and Budget, meaning that a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is likely to be published in the Federal Register soon.
An unsuccessful attempt to prohibit OSHA from enforcing anti-retaliation provisions contained in the agency’s recordkeeping regulations means the rules are now on the books and enforceable. Get more on this significant legal decision here.