A judge just dismissed a safety claim being prosecuted by North Carolina workplace safety officials after it was revealed at trial that NC OSHA inspectors had been shredding handwritten notes and other documents from their...more
2/6/2025
/ Citations ,
Dismissals ,
Document Destruction ,
Due Process ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
North Carolina ,
OSHA ,
Record Retention ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Safety
When Fisher Phillips attorneys recently secured a key victory over a state OSHA plan that was improperly trying to create a quota system to encourage investigators to issue citations and assess penalties, it opened the door...more
When an inspector from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) shows up at your workplace, know this: everything—and we mean everything—that a manager or supervisor says at any point to the inspector will...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has conducted an inspection of your plant after one of your employees amputated part of his finger trying to clean around a sprocket with the machine still running. ...more
3/27/2019
/ Citations ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Inadmissible Evidence ,
Litigation Strategies ,
OSHA ,
Settlement Conferences ,
Settlement Offer ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Witness Statements ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Investigations
While it is not comparable to David Letterman’s Top 10 lists, at a recent industry gathering, OSHA announced its annual top 10 violations for fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018). For those who have...more
11/16/2018
/ Citations ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Workers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Contractors ,
OSHA ,
Popular ,
Safety Inspections ,
Safety Training ,
Safety Violations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
After the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Jones Brothers, Inc. v. Sec’y of Labor, citations upheld by administrative law judges within the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (“FMSHRC”) may be...more
8/3/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appointments Clause ,
Citations ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
OSHA ,
OSHRC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Over the last few years, there has been debate regarding whether ALJs are “inferior officers” under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. This provision provides that officers, including inferior officers, may only be...more
8/2/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Citations ,
Coal Industry ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Two recent cases should remind employers to contest OSHA citations quickly to prevent the citations from becoming final. It’s an uphill battle if your notice of contest is submitted late.
Employers Have 15 Working Days to...more
On February 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new interim enforcement procedures, provided below, regarding failure to submit electronic injury and illness records.
In 2016, OSHA adopted a...more
Until 2015, it was the practice of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to look back only three years to establish “repeat” violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). In 2015, OSHA...more
It’s that time of year again: for employers to celebrate the successes of the prior year and make plans and resolutions for the new one. But OSHA and MSHA are making New Year’s resolutions, too, and employers are well-advised...more
12/11/2017
/ Budget Cuts ,
Citations ,
Consultation ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Inspections ,
Investigations ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Mining ,
OSHA ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safety Standards ,
Silica ,
Trump Administration ,
Willful Violations ,
Workplace Exam Standards ,
Workplace Safety