October 12, 2011 by Jim Burger
Like Sammy Hagar, you may not be able to drive 55. But no matter how quickly you’d like to get where you’re going, chances are you’ll stay well under 100 the next time you’re on the open road. The question is why.
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September 22, 2011 by Fred Hosier
A new OSHA directive outlines the types of businesses and the reasons why inspectors will review a company’s workplace violence prevention efforts.
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Tags: General Duty Clause, healthcare, high-crime areas, OSHA directive, retail, working alone, workplace violence
September 12, 2011 by Fred Hosier
Twenty years ago, 25 workers died in a chicken plant fire in North Carolina. The tragedy caused a large upgrade of the state’s occupational safety agency. How is North Carolina OSHA doing now?
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Tags: blocked doors, fire, Imperial Food Products, North Carolina, OSHA inspectors
August 9, 2011 by Fred Hosier
The U.S. debt agreement will force lawmakers to make tough decisions on where to cut government spending. OSHA is one senator’s target.
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Tags: government spending, OSHA budget, OSHA penalties, OSHA target, Sen. Tom Coburn, Susan Harwood Grants, Voluntary Protection Program
August 8, 2011 by Fred Hosier
July 12, 2011 by Fred Hosier
An eight-month investigation reveals 80 employee deaths at companies in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) between 2000 and 2008. What may be even more shocking: 65% of these companies have maintained their VPP status.
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Tags: Center for Public Integrity, David Michaels, Government Accountability Office, Voluntary Protection Program, VPP
July 7, 2011 by Fred Hosier
If a state tells its occupational safety and health inspectors that they have to find a higher percentage of serious, willful and repeat violations, has it set up a quota system?
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Tags: inspection quota, Las Vegas, Nevada, serious willful repeat violations
June 27, 2011 by Fred Hosier
If you’ve been thinking recently that a large part of your company’s injury prevention program has been turned upside down, you’re not alone.
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Tags: American Society of Safety Engineers, Daniel Pink, David Michaels, motivating employees, safety incentives
June 20, 2011 by Fred Hosier
No secret: OSHA administrator David Michaels would rather focus more on enforcement than employer assistance. But surprisingly, recent stats show the agency is still managing to do both.
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Tags: American Society of Safety Engineers, OSHA assistance, OSHA enforcement, Voluntary Protection Program
May 2, 2011 by Fred Hosier
On April 28, 2011, OSHA turned 40 years old. Is the agency suffering an early mid-life crisis?
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Tags: Chamber of Commerce, i2p2, inspectors, job killer, maximum fines, mid-life crisis, OSHA 40-years-old, permissible exposure limits, retaliation, unions
April 21, 2011 by Fred Hosier
Imagine this scenario: Your facility is inspected by state or federal OSHA. The agency issues citations. Your company decides to appeal. Should you be required to correct the hazards while the case is under appeal?
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Tags: abate hazards, appeal citation, Labor & Industries, serious violation, Washington state
April 15, 2011 by Fred Hosier
Usually, a business knows it’s being investigated by OSHA, MSHA, or any other safety agency because the inspector comes to the company’s facility. A recent safety citation shows that’s not always the case.
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Tags: Cobalt Coal Corp., MSHA fines, Spike TV, TV show Coal
February 21, 2011 by Fred Hosier
A lot of debate will occur between this week’s announcement of President Obama’s proposed budget, including funding for OSHA, and the start of the new federal fiscal year on Oct. 1. Forget about that debate for now. Instead, take a look at what OSHA plans to do with its funding, especially if you own a small business.
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Tags: enforcement, inspections, OSHA budget, severe violators, small business
February 15, 2011 by Fred Hosier
With the Obama administration proposing big budget cuts for some agencies, such as a 13% drop for EPA, it may come as somewhat of a surprise that OSHA’s budget would go up under the President’s proposed 2012 budget.
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Tags: compliance assistance, enforcement, Obama administration, OSHA budget, proposed budget cuts
January 28, 2011 by Fred Hosier
In a recent speech, OSHA administrator David Michaels acknowledged that his agency is under attack as part of the debate on the role of government.
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Tags: criminal charges, David Michaels, kill jobs, killing workers, OSHA 40th anniversary
January 14, 2011 by Fred Hosier
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has issued an important decision that will help determine what is and what isn’t a repeat OSHA violation.
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Tags: Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, OSHA, repeat violation
January 4, 2011 by Fred Hosier
Authorities have arrested the former and current owner of a St. Louis, MO, business for failing to comply with court orders to pay more than a quarter of a million dollars in OSHA fines.
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Tags: failure to pay OSHA fines, fall protection, owners arrested, scaffolding
December 22, 2010 by Fred Hosier
The story of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has just about disappeared from general news coverage following the capping of the well a few months ago. But the next chapter in this story is just beginning.
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Tags: civil lawsuit, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf oil spill
December 13, 2010 by Fred Hosier
An analysis of OSHA enforcement during the first two years of the Obama administration shows how the agency has changed its enforcement tactics compared to the Bush years.
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Tags: Obama's OSHA, OMB Watch, OSHA citations, OSHA enforcement, willful violations
November 29, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Scenario: A company failed to record an employee’s injury that happened more than four years ago. Can OSHA fine the company for that four years later?
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Tags: injury logs, OSHA fines, OSHRC, Recordkeeping, Volks Constructors
November 17, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Companies that OSHA places in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) can count on multiple safety inspections with accompanying large fines for infractions.
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Tags: dust, fall protection, follow-up inspections, lockout, Severe Violator Enforcement Program
November 15, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration want to increase OSHA fines as a deterrent so companies don’t skimp on safety. Republicans, who will control the U.S. House in January, say it’s big government trying to get bigger. Should the U.S. look north for a compromise?
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Tags: Alberta, Congress, creative sentencing, Manufacturers' Health and Safety Association, Obama administration, Threads of Life
November 15, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Six months before 29 workers died in its Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, owner Massey Energy received three Sentinels of Safety awards from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
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Tags: Celeste Monforton, Massey Energy, MSHA, safety award, Upper Big Branch mine
October 19, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Missy Patten admits her employees wear outfits that are “a little racy” to promote her auto glass repair business. But Cal/OSHA is concerned that the workers won’t be seen as they hold signs along a road, and has said they need to wear orange safety vests.
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Tags: Cal/OSHA, Missy Patten, orange vest, sign twirlers
October 8, 2010 by Fred Hosier
(From the National Safety Council Congress and Expo in San Diego) The federal government’s fiscal year 2010 ended Sept. 30. That timing allowed OSHA officials to present preliminary numbers on 2010 enforcement at this year’s National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo. As expected, the numbers are up, but by how much?
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Tags: David Michaels, fiscal year 2010, inspections, OSHA fines, serious violation, violations
October 1, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Federal OSHA is cracking down on states that run their own occupational safety and health programs. For employers, that means more inspections and higher fines.
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Tags: California, Hawaii, Nevada, state occupational safety programs, tougher enforcement
September 16, 2010 by Fred Hosier
It pays to settle safety disputes with employees. Otherwise, they may file a report with OSHA and prompt an inspection. This story involves a difference of opinion over personal protective equipment.
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Tags: PPE, protective boots, safety disputes with employees
September 9, 2010 by Fred Hosier
July 30, 2010 by Fred Hosier
Uh oh. An OSHA inspector shows up at your business. He uncovers a violation, and you don’t dispute it. How do you limit your company’s financial liability?
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Tags: excavation, lower OSHA fines, OSHRC, willful violation
July 20, 2010 by Fred Hosier
June 17, 2010 by Jim Burger
It’s full-speed ahead for OSHA, which is trying to make up for what it views as eight lost years during the Bush administration.
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Tags: fines, OSHA
June 15, 2010 by Jim Burger
OSHA has an explicit new message for the millions of workers who participate in the agency’s outreach training program: We’re on your side.
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Tags: David Michaels, Injuries, OSHA
June 11, 2010 by Fred Hosier
When federal OSHA announced a crackdown on state-run safety agencies, it said many of them were issuing fines that didn’t serve as deterrents to companies. Now it appears at least one state has heard that message loud and clear.
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Tags: hand injury, ignored warnings, record fine, state-run safety agencies
June 9, 2010 by Fred Hosier
OSHA has fined a Belvedere, IL, company $510,000 in connection with a December 2009 explosion that killed a bystander.
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Tags: bystander killed, explosion, NDK Crystals, willful violations
June 7, 2010 by Fred Hosier
The cries for less government have become more frequent these days, including in reader comments on this website when OSHA ramps up enforcement or rulemaking. One frequent argument is that OSHA’s regulations hurt the U.S. economy.
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Tags: less government, OSHA hurts U.S. economy, OSHA ramps up enforcement
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