President Donald Trump recently nominated Wayne Palmer to take the reins at MSHA as the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health. Palmer is currently serving as a part of the Trump transition team within the Department...more
On December 19, 2024, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board unanimously approved a proposal to make permanent amendments to its regulation regarding occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in the general industry...more
On April 16, 2024, the Mine Safety & Health Administration (“MSHA”) released its final rule for Respirable Crystalline Silica (“RCS”) for preliminary viewing, and it was published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2024....more
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) released its long-anticipated silica rule on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (See the rule here) The rule is aimed at reducing miners’ exposure to respirable crystalline silica,...more
On December 14, 2023, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved an emergency temporary standard (ETS) intended to enhance protection of workers from the hazards of respirable crystalline silica...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cal/OSHA’s Standards Board approved the Division’s revisions to the silica standard on an emergency basis, requiring a regulated area, PPE, and air monitoring for any workplace with a stone or tile cutting...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that OSHA has launched a new initiative focused on enhancing enforcement and providing compliance assistance to protect workers from the hazards of silica....more
On July 20, 2023, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Cal/OSHA Standards Board) held its monthly meeting and received public comments on Petition File No. 597, a proposal to amend Title...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
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Denver Regional Office has announced the rollout of a “Regional Emphasis Program” dedicated to the reduction of incidents of workplace illness related to silica....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: We recently blogged that Silica is the New Asbestos: New OSHA Regional Emphasis Program Will Target Respirable Silica Hazards in Six States. Now the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has...more
While the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) continues to work on developing a new crystalline silica standard (that is expected to cut the exposure limit in half), the agency has decided to ramp up enforcement of...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
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has developed a new Regional Emphasis Program (REP) to identify and reduce hazards in the cut stone and stone products industry, which OSHA alleges to have the highest documented overexposures to...more
On June 25, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued Inspection Procedures for the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standards. The new procedures, 124 pages in length, went into effect immediately....more
For employers concerned about how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been enforcing its Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for General Industry, the agency’s enforcement data for the standard’s...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
For construction employers anxious over how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and state plan states are enforcing the Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard, the last two calendar years...more
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued an October 7th news release stating it cited Liberty Casting Company (“Liberty”) for certain alleged violations. Liberty is stated to operate...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced today that it would hold a public meeting on its recent Request for Information (RFI) on Respirable Silica (Quartz). That RFI, published on...more
To almost everyone’s delight, OSHA has filled the vital position of the Director of the Directorate of Construction (DOC). The DOC Director position is always challenging to fill. It requires a high degree of construction...more
Last week, OSHA began a potential rulemaking process to expand what some might consider exceptions to the 2016 silica rule in construction. Here’s what we know… On July 29th, OSHA submitted to the Office of Information...more
On July 29th OSHA submitted a draft Request for Information (RFI) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding Table 1 in OSHA’s construction standard for silica. If approved by OMB, OSHA intends to issue the RFI in...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Seyfarth Shaw’s OSHA/MSHA group is at the ABA’s Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Midwinter Meeting this week....more