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OSHA Announces Fall Protection NEP

May 11, 2023 - The recent announcement by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) about the launch of a National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeting fall hazards is not a big surprise. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501) has been OSHA’s most frequently cited standard for over a decade. In FY 2022, the agency issued 5260 violations, more than […]

OSHA Revises the Combustible Dust NEP

April 24, 2023 - At the end of January, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced revisions to its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP). The new directives to regional administrators outlined several significant changes, including adding several industries which, according to OSHA, have a higher likelihood of having combustible dust hazards. OSHA claims that enforcement history and […]

OSHA Wants to Clarify Subpoena Practices

April 11, 2023 - The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) recently announced its intentions to implement an interim final rule about the use of subpoenas during investigations. The agency claims the rule will provide “helpful clarity” about requests for documents, data, and testimony related to an investigation. There isn’t a draft of the proposed rule available for review. […]

Stress, Mental Health, and the Workforce

February 28, 2023 - In November 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a bulletin about stress and mental health in the workplace. Employers should pay attention to this for a couple of reasons. If you aren’t already thinking about these issues, the bulletin provides helpful information. The bulletin is also a window into how OSHA may […]

Get Ready For More Instance-By-Instance Citations

February 21, 2023 - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced a significant change in its Instance-By-Instance (IBI) citation policy. In the instructions to regional and area offices, published on January 26, 2023, OSHA can now issue IBI citations if any one of the following is present: The employer has received a willful, repeat, or failure to […]

OSHA Plans to Revive the ‘Fairfax Memo’

February 9, 2023 - We thought it went away forever in 2017, but the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) plans to revive an unpopular enforcement policy known as the Fairfax memo sometime this year. The memo, issued in 2013 by Richard E. Fairfax, Deputy Assistant Secretary of OSHA, authorized a worker advocate to take part in inspections of […]

The Cost of Noncompliance: OSHA, DOT, EPA Penalties Increase for 2023

January 23, 2023 - As required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, federal agencies must publish “catch-up” rules that adjust the level of monetary penalties assessed for various violations — and then make annual adjustments no later than January 15 each year after that. The penalty adjustments recently published by the Occupational Health […]

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