On February 5, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) related to the Fire Brigades standard, 29 C.F.R. 1910.156, and related standards. ...more
On January 26, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its updated Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Instruction, providing enforcement guidance related to compliance with...more
In the last several years, most regions of the United States have experienced periods of severe winter weather with frigid temperatures and bone-chilling winds. Winter weather carries a variety of hazards, from cold-stress...more
This is the first in a series of articles intended to provide the reader with a very high-level overview of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and how both...more
1/12/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Private Sector ,
Protected Activity ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Safety Violations ,
State OSHA Laws ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
Though heralded as one of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) top priorities, the introduction of a heat injury and illness prevention standard has yet to happen. According to some reports, OSHA has yet...more
It is perhaps not a surprise to anyone familiar with e-commerce and the corresponding infrastructure that was developed to deliver all those packages, but according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),...more
7/18/2023
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Distribution Centers ,
E-Commerce ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Grocery Store Workers ,
Grocery Stores ,
Health and Safety ,
Heat Exposure ,
Inspections ,
NAICS ,
NEP ,
OSHA ,
Safety Inspections ,
Warehouses ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … or, more precisely, last month in the Texas Capitol in Austin, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill (HB) No. 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act—a measure that his...more
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 each year. This year, in mid-June, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the “Hurricane eMatrix,” a hazard exposure and risk...more
In February 2013, during the early months of the second term of the Obama administration, a standard interpretation related to Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations at 29 C.F.R. § 1903.8(c) that later became known as...more
6/21/2023
/ Bargaining Units ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Inspection Rights ,
NPRM ,
Obama Administration ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safety Inspections ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
As of May 1, 2023, marijuana had been legalized for medicinal or recreational use, or both, in thirty-eight states. Some 35–55 million Americans report using marijuana two or more times per month....more
California has long led the nation in addressing workplace violence via the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health’s (Cal/OSHA) Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care standard. The federal Occupational...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has identified violence in healthcare settings as a significant occupational risk, and a new workplace violence standard for the healthcare industry could be on the...more
On February 15, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) withdrew its proposed rule that would have revoked the final approval status of Arizona’s state plan for occupational safety and health. The...more
The new year began with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) clearly establishing that it is focusing on enforcement in 2023. After announcing that it is expanding its instance-by-instance citation policy...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently posted a tweet with the following question: “Is your pizza party incentive program unreasonable?” Setting aside the frontal attack on arguably one of the most...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 rulemaking process has been quiet for a while, but recent activity appears to indicate we are now entering the final phase of a permanent COVID-19 standard...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) bloodborne pathogens standard, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1030, requires employers having employees with “occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious...more
On September 9, 2015, then U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates issued a memo, “Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing,” that sent shivers down the spines of those in the workplace safety community....more
11/18/2022
/ Cooperation ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) ,
Monaco Memo ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Workplace Safety ,
Yates Memorandum
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is holding off on deciding whether to revoke final approval of Arizona’s occupational safety and health (OSH) plan. On August 10, 2022, OSHA said it is...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) remains focused on the pandemic in certain workplaces as indicated by its announcement of a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) related to COVID-19. Interestingly, the...more