The Mine Safety & Health Administration (“MSHA”) has finally published its final rule on Safety Programs for Surface Mobile Equipment. This final rule has been a long time coming. MSHA originally published a Request...more
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) appropriately held its last stakeholder meeting of 2023 on National Miners Day, which recognizes the Monongah Mine disaster that occurred on December 6, 1907, near Fairmont,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Mine Safety and Health Administration “remains troubled by the fact that our impact inspections continue to discover the same hazards we’ve identified as root causes for fatal accidents and that we know...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: This week we are attending the ABA Workplace and Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, California. The meeting includes representatives from the U.S. Department of...more
Some employers might be surprised to learn that MSHA violations are increasingly common in states not typically associated with mine safety – and that you are much more likely to be cited for certain kinds of violations...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced a new initiative to strengthen enforcement of its current respirable crystalline silica standards. Crystalline silica is a...more
Welcome to “Mining MSHA,” a regular series of posts focusing on mine safety fundamentals – but designed for both new and experienced mine safety professionals. This series will help safety professionals develop their MSHA...more
While the world grapples with COVID-19 and its implications for daily life, those in the mining industry may wonder whether the onset of the pandemic presents any MSHA compliance issues. Indeed, unlike its sister agency OSHA...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth Shaw’s OSHA/MSHA group is at the ABA’s Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Midwinter Meeting this week. Today, we heard from panels that discussed California Workplace Violence and Indoor...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth Shaw’s OSHA/MSHA group is at the ABA’s Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Midwinter Meeting this week. Today, we heard some introductory remarks from the Solicitor of Labor, a panel who...more
As the current administration continues with its purported deregulatory agenda, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is struggling for an identity. After years of some of the most stringent compliance activity...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL has published its 2020 increases to MSHA civil penalties. The DOL has finalized the 2020 inflation adjustments, which will nudge the penalties up 1.764%. 85 Fed. Reg. 2292 (Jan. 15, 2020)....more
During the final months of 2019, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) advised the mining community that it would pay attention to issues involving contractors working at mine sites, noting a disproportionate...more
Section 105(c)(1) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (“Mine Act”) provides “No person shall discharge or in any manner discriminate against . . . or otherwise interfere with the exercise of the statutory rights of any...more
During its recent quarterly stakeholder call, the Mine Safety and Health Administration announced a new “Fire Suppression Safety Initiative” (FSS) to ensure that fire suppression systems on mobile equipment are in working...more
On August 16, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) presented a webinar, “Safety Improvement Technologies for Mobile Equipment at Surface Mines, and for Belt Conveyors at Surface...more
The changes to MSHA’s workplace examination rule governing metal and nonmetal mines have garnered significant attention. Stakeholders fought back against the original proposed rulemaking, and MSHA delayed implementation three...more