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The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) recently announced new permanent workplace safety and health standards for heat and wildfire smoke exposures. Oregon rules for heat illness prevention and agricultural labor housing take effect June 15. The wildfire smoke protection standard takes effect July 1. “As we enter what we expect will be […]
In our latest installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by the team of industry experts at EHS Hero®, we look at a recent question from a subscriber asking about OSHA’s requirements for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBA) in the workplace. See what the experts had to say. Q: What are the requirements of having SCBAs […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine OSHA’s whistleblower protections and how to establish an anti-retaliation program in the workplace. Reporting safety issues is an integral part of maintaining an effective, positive safety environment in the workplace. Workers […]
A House committee examining issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic alleged that meatpacking companies enlisted the help of political appointees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to weaken worker safety and health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). On May 12, the […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Region 8, which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, will begin the enforcement phase of its Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss on May 17. Enforcement begins with the end of a 90-day outreach program. The REP targets manufacturing industries with high […]
On April 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a newly issued Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for food processing facilities in Wisconsin. The OSHA outreach, inspection, and enforcement program is aimed at addressing machine and amputation hazards in food manufacturing facilities. From 2014 to 2020, OSHA investigated multiple fatalities, dozens of amputations, fractures, […]
How likely will your facility or worksite be subject to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection? The number of OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) has declined over the past decade, while the number of U.S. businesses has increased, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently pointed out. […]
In April, the American Hospital Association (AHA) urged the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) not to establish a permanent healthcare COVID-19 standard based on the agency’s June 21, 2021, emergency temporary standard (ETS). The AHA voiced its opposition to establishing a permanent standard not aligned with evolving evidence-based guidance from the Centers for Disease […]
On April 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed revoking its final approval of Arizona’s state workplace safety and health plan (87 Federal Register (FR) 23783). Federal OSHA could resume concurrent workplace safety and health enforcement in the state, as the status of Arizona’s program would revert to initial approval. The agency has […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched an indoor and outdoor heat-related hazards National Emphasis Program (NEP). Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh unveiled the NEP on April 13 with Vice President Kamala Harris at a public event at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Training Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. OSHA plans to initiate […]