On July 18, 2024, the Englewood and Denver area offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a Local Emphasis Program (LEP) targeted at identifying and reducing workplace hazards associated...more
On August 30, 2024, OSHA formally published its heat safety standard for indoor and outdoor work in the Federal Register, starting a 120-day public comment period.
As explained in our previous blog post, the new rule is...more
On July 2, OSHA unveiled its proposed heat safety rule, currently awaiting official publication in the Federal Register. This rule aims to protect employees from heat-related injuries and illnesses by establishing...more
OSHA has been working a proposed standard for indoor and outdoor heat illness since 2021. This month the proposed standard has been sent to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. ...more
MSHA announced it will hold a series of stakeholder meetings across the country to share information about the final silica rule issued on April 18, 2024. The first two meetings are scheduled for Arlington, VA on July 10,...more
On May 20, 2024, OHSA published finalized revisions to the Hazard Communication Standard (the “HazCom standard”). The HazCom standard is a commonly cited standard in OSHA inspections. The revisions to the rule address the...more
MSHA has posted a template for compliance assistance with the Surface Mobile Equipment Rule. MSHA will begin to enforce the standard on July 17, 2024. The standard does not require operators to submit their plan to the...more
The new rule will allow worker representatives to take part in OSHA inspections even if they are not employees. The final rule clarifies that employee representatives may be an employee of the employer or a third party....more
Remember injury and illness data must be reported to OSHA electronically by March 2, 2024. OSHA does not send out notifications or reminders to establishments to report injury and illness data (i.e., required data from the...more
On December 11, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced that it will be “replacing traditional hard hats used by its employees with more modern safety helmets.”...more
On December 21, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) unveiled an unofficial version of its proposed Emergency Response Rule. The Emergency Response Rule, if finalized, would replace an existing rule...more
On December 19, 2023, MSHA announced a final rule to have written safety programs for surface mobile equipment (excluding belt conveyers) at surface mines and surface areas of underground mines....more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) released its latest regulatory agenda on December 11, 2023. According to the agenda, OSHA intends to advance several long-promised rules in either the final days of...more
Final Rule Expanding Submission Requirements for Injury & Illness Data- OSHA’s final rule requiring new submissions of injury and illness data for certain employers in high-hazard industries takes effect on January 1, 2024....more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 29, 2023, concerning who employees can authorize to act as their representative during Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”)...more
MSHA has published the proposed silica rule on their website. Among other things, MSHA proposes to set the permissible exposure limit of respirable crystalline silica at 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) for a full...more
On May 1, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it has begun a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to prevent and reduce fall-related injuries and fatalities for people working at heights...more
Back in January, we posted about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) intention to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel (“SBAR Panel”). This Panel would help decide whether OSHA should enact...more
According to Bloomberg Law, Assistant Secretary of Labor for MSHA, Chris Williamson, has stated that beginning this month the agency will resume a practice that ended in 2020...more
New Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement guidance set to take effect on March 27, 2023, will expand OSHA’s authority to issue instance-by-instance, or “IBI,” citations. Since 1990, OSHA has issued...more
OSHA is currently considering a possible “Prevention of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance” rule. If passed, the Rule would apply to employers whose employees face an increased risk of workplace violence...more
The increase in the frequency of violent confrontations faced by healthcare workers in the workplace is prompting OSHA to pursue a standard for Prevention of Workplace Violence in the Healthcare and Social Assistance...more
On January 4, 2023, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the 2022 Unified Regulatory Agenda and Regulatory Plan (Fall 2022 Agenda) that reports on all planned rulemaking actions of administrative...more
In January of 2022, a worker in a Massachusetts cannabis cultivation facility died because of “the hazards of ground cannabis dust,” according to a report issued by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). ...more
MSHA has announced a new enforcement initiative regarding overexposure to respirable crystalline silica.
The silica enforcement initiative is intended “to take immediate action to reduce the risks the silica exposure.” ...more