Of the more than 300 employers who have accrued safety penalties during the coronavirus pandemic, only about one-third have paid, according to an investigation by Reuters.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed rules to modify the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7.

The Joint Consensus Statement summarizes what occupational health professionals and scientists currently know about airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission and outlines recommendations.

As OSHA practitioners and environmental, health and safety professionals know, avoiding repeat citations is often a central issue when resolving an OSHA enforcement matter. OSHA policy instructs the agency to consider several factors when determining whether to characterize a citation as “repeat.” One of those factors involves a situation in which there has been a change in corporate structure or ownership between the initial and subsequent violations.

Federal OSHA is stagnant and ill-prepared to regulate future risks. OSHA has only 1,850 inspectors to cover 8 million U.S. workplaces. OSHA has no regulations for rising concerns such as infectious disease, EMFs, psychosocial hazards, or ergonomics.

As directed by President Joseph Biden’s Executive Order issued on January 21, 2021 requiring the Federal Government to take swift action to protect workers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released updated guidance on how to prevent exposure and the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Monday, February 1, launched an investigation into widespread COVID-19 infections and deaths in US meatpacking plants. Representative James Clyburn, Chairman of the Subcommittee, sent letters to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and JBS USA.

On January 21, 2021, in an effort to provide enforcement of more stringent worker safety standards, President Biden issued an Executive Order (‘EO”) on Protecting Worker Health and Safety. 

Industrial businesses have faced unprecedented challenges amid COVID-19. Companies have dealt with shutdowns and other disruptions for almost a year now, but the end may be near. As vaccines begin to roll out, many workers now wonder when they can get vaccinated.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams resigned at President-elect Joe Biden’s request on Wednesday, as the incoming president sought to make a symbolic break with his predecessor’s covid-19 response.