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The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) will have expanded enforcement authority starting January 1, 2022, with the creation of two new classes of violations: enterprisewide and egregious. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) recently signed S.B. 606 into law, authorizing the new citation and penalty authority. If a cited employer has multiple worksites, there […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will soon issue an emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide weekly negative tests. The rule will be issued as part of President Joe Biden’s six-point national strategy, announced September 9, to combat the […]
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) September 7 released fact sheets covering counterfeit N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and the institute’s filtration efficiency testing and employer FFR fit testing. Last year, NIOSH and personal protective equipment manufacturers reported a rise in counterfeit FFRs following respirator shortages at the beginning of the COVID-19 […]
Farmworkers in California remain at risk for heat-related illness despite farms’ compliance with the state’s heat illness prevention program standard, according to research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Around 7% of farmworkers studied were at risk for heat-related illness despite compliance with California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Republic Steel for one repeat, seven serious, and three other-than-serious safety violations, seeking a proposed $220,399 in penalties. According to the agency, Republic’s Canton, Ohio, automotive steel mill did not install adequate machine guarding, implement lockout/tagout measures, or train workers on safety procedures, exposing its employees to […]
An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) task force announced a weeklong Suicide Prevention Safety Stand-Down, planned for September 6-10, to raise awareness about the unique challenges construction workers face. A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) study found that men working in construction have one of the highest suicide rates compared with […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a Wayland, Massachusetts, contractor and his processor and successor companies with 28 willful, repeat, serious, and other-than-serious safety and health violations following two trenching fatalities. The agency seeks a total of $1,350,884 in penalties. Atlantic Coast Utilities LLC/Advanced Utilities Inc.; its predecessor company Shannon Construction Corp.; their […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on August 10 cited Safeway Inc. with violations of the agency’s lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and other standards at the company’s dairy facility. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $339,379. The agency inspected a Denver milk packaging plant operated by Safeway after a worker lost four fingers while operating a molding […]
As part of its Safe + Sound campaign, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) shared a variety of resources aimed at helping businesses put together safety and health programs. According to OSHA’s page devoted to the topic, safety and health programs help businesses do the following: Prevent workplace injuries and illnesses Improve compliance with […]
Washington State has adopted the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA), a sweeping worker protection bill passed by the state legislature. The Act amends the state’s workers’ compensation and industrial health and safety statutes to provide automatic protections for certain workers and to impose new notification and reporting requirements on employers in the event of a public […]