President-elect Biden has chosen Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be his Labor Secretary. Walsh would oversee OSHA and MSHA, which are part of the U.S. Department of Labor. In 2016, as Mayor of Boston, Walsh filed an ordinance to give the city the right to deny, revoke or suspend a work permit based on the […]
OSHA began collecting calendar year 2020 Form 300A data Jan. 2, and electronic versions of the form must be submitted by March 2. Electronic submissions are required by employers who have 250 or more employees and who are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records. Employers with 20-249 employees in industries with historically high […]
Federal OSHA announced a new debt collection initiative involving a series of letters, a phone call and eventual placement on an inspection priority list. The initiative begins with a series of penalty payment letters sent to businesses that don’t pay fines in a timely manner and eventually leads to employers being placed on an inspection […]
Three out of the top 10 largest OSHA fines in 2020 were above $1 million. All ten were above $470,000. Retailers accounted for four of the top 10. Here are the 10 largest OSHA fines in 2020: BB Frame, Cliffside Park, NJ, $2,004,225. OSHA fined this New Jersey framing contractor for exposing workers to multiple […]
OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Directive was updated Dec. 16 with a new targeting category and records-only inspections for situations involving incorrect data. This inspection program directs enforcement resources to non-construction employers with 20 or more employees that have the highest rates of injuries and illnesses. The new directive replaces “Site-Specific Targeting 2016” and includes some significant […]
OSHA’s fall regulatory agenda was released Dec. 9 as part of the overall plan rolled out by the White House Office of Management and Budget, but with the incoming Biden administration, things could change. There are 21 items on OSHA’s Fall 2020 Rule List with three in the final rule stage, 14 listed as “proposed” […]
Even the most safety-conscious companies sometimes have workers that get injured or sick on the job. Like many non-exempt businesses with 11 or more employees, you’re keeping an Occupational Safety and Health Act-required record of serious work-related injuries (requiring more than first aid) and illnesses via OSHA’s Form 300 — the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. […]
Even if there hadn’t been a coronavirus pandemic, you could expect to see significant differences between a Trump OSHA and a Biden OSHA. COVID-19 has put emphasis on OSHA and will accelerate changes at the agency. Here are the changes to expect soon after January 20, 2021, when the new president takes office: Temporary emergency […]
A former plant manager has pleaded guilty to federal charges and could face up to three years in prison in connection to giving a falsified document to an OSHA inspector. Rean Brooks, former manager at Texas Packing Company, a meat packing plant in San Angelo, Texas, pleaded guilty to concealing knowledge of a felony. The […]
