Osha enforcement

A Confined Space blog post

Fall 2018 regulatory agenda: No surprises

OPINION

October 23, 2018

Lots happening these days: the grizzly murder of a Saudi journalist, baseball championships (Go Dodgers!!), mid-term elections, Presidential temper tantrums about “Horseface” and “Pocahontas.” The usual. But by far the most important thing happening today is the Fall 2018 Regulatory Agenda. Release of the Regulatory Agenda is a much anticipated (for regulatory geeks) semi-annual event that gives the President the opportunity to boast about his efforts to allegedly “Cut Burdensome Red Tape and Unleash the American Economy.”

OSHA launches program to target high injury, illness rates

October 19, 2018

OSHA says it will zero in on establishments with high injury rates with a Site-Specific Targeting 2016 (SST-16) Program that will use information electronically submitted by employers for calendar year (CY) 2016. The program will target high injury rate establishments in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors for inspection.

Behavior based safety, training guide workplace safety efforts

Manufacturer shares VPP story

October 18, 2018

Some companies may be reluctant to invite OSHA into a plant voluntarily but Mike DeSoto, chief operating officer of MI Windows and Doors, said the end result is "very worth it." DeSoto spoke at the recent American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) 2018 Fall Conference about the need to implement a culture of workplace safety.

OSHA enforcement across the USA: Electrical, machine & hazmat violations

October 17, 2018

An employee at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Austin, Texas, was injured after being ejected from a forklift. OSHA cited the postal service for failing to ensure that forklift operators obeyed traffic regulations. The postal service was also cited for exposing employees to tripping hazards, and failing to label electrical panels and breakers.

One worker electrocuted, two who try to help him injured

October 16, 2018

OSHA has cited a Pennsylvania contractor for health and safety violations following an electrical accident on April 12, 2018 that killed one worker and injured two others. News sources said a crew employed by Pipe Contracting LLC was repairing the sewer system when a machine the workers were using touched a 23,000-volt high-tension line.

Worker gets the axe after reporting injuries

Fired whistleblower gets $100K in court settlement

October 15, 2018

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Wisconsin in Green Bay has awarded a machine operator $100,000 in back wages and compensatory damages after his employer Dura-Fibre LLC – based in Menasha, Wisconsin – terminated him for reporting injuries he and a co-worker sustained.

Is OSHA at its nadir?

The agency has been silent for far too long

Dave Johnson

August 3, 2018

Is OSHA more irrelevant than ever? Many top OSHA officials, careerists, are working in an “acting” or interim basis: the agency’s career deputy assistant secretary position; the head of whistleblower protection; the director of training; and four of the ten agency regional administrators.

The art of the deal: Know how OSHA reaches settlements

Dan Markiewicz, MS, CIH, CSP, CHMM

December 1, 2017

OSHA has cut deals with employers and industry associations ever since the agency’s beginning. About one-third of cited employers don’t take OSHA’s deal. They just correct and pay. Will more of this group deal with OSHA in the future?

OSHA's Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations

Here are OSHA’s top 10 violations for 2017

November 1, 2017

OSHA has announced the preliminary Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2017.

The OSHA blaming and shaming game

Does negative press change corporate misbehavior?

August 1, 2017

With the virtual halt to federal OSHA press releases on enforcement cases, ISHN asked veteran agency observers and safety and health experts for their input on whether the practice pays off in changing corporate misbehavior.