OSHA Compliance

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By James L. Curtis, Kay R. Bonza, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis:  OSHA today published a proposed rule to amend the injury and illness recordkeeping rules by rescinding the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Forms 300 and 301.  OSHA is amending provisions of the “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” (WII Rule) final rule to protect sensitive worker information from potential disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  83 Fed. Reg. 36494 (July 30, 2018).

OSHA, in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), has “preliminarily determined” that the risk of disclosure of information contained in OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report), the costs to OSHA of collecting and using the information and the reporting burden on employers are “unjustified given the uncertain benefits of collecting the information.”  The proposed rule eliminates the requirement to file the Form 300 and 301 for establishments with 250 or more employees.  These large employers will still be required to electronically file the OSHA 300A summary of work-related injuries and illnesses. OSHA submits that this proposed change will maintain safety and health protections for workers while also reducing the burden to employers of complying with the current rule.

We had blogged previously on the WII Rule.  See All State Plan Employers are Now Required to Electronically File 2017 Form 300A Data, OSHA Intends to “Reconsider, Revise, or Remove Portions” of Injury and Illness E-Reporting Rule Next Year, OSHA Delays Electronic Filing Date for Injury and Illness Records Until December 1, 2017, and Despite Lawsuit, OSHA Publishes Interpretation for New Workplace Injury and Illness Reporting Rule..

In the proposed rule, OSHA notes that Form 301 requires the collection of sensitive information about each individual worker’s job-linked illness or injury, information an employer must collect with or without the worker’s consent.  “While some of the information is likelier to be regarded as particularly sensitive—namely, descriptions of injuries and the body parts affected—most of the form’s questions seek answers that should not be lightly disclosed, including:”

  • Was employee treated in an emergency room?
  • Was employee hospitalized overnight as an in-patient?
  • Date of birth?
  • Date of injury?
  • What was the employee doing just before the incident occurred? Describe the activity, as well as the tools, equipment, or material the employee was using. Be specific.
  • What happened? Tell us how the injury occurred.
  • What was the injury or illness? Tell us the part of the body that was affected and how it was affected; be more specific than “hurt,” “pain,” or “sore.”
  • What object or substance directly harmed the employee?

In the May 2016 final rule (81 Fed. Reg. 29624), the recordkeeping regulation was revised to require establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from the OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301 to OSHA annually.  Individual injury and illness case information from these forms could be disclosed to third parties pursuant to FOIA requests from the public, thereby endangering worker privacy.  The NPRM proposes to amend OSHA’s new electronic recordkeeping regulation by rescinding the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from the OSHA Forms 300 and 301, to protect sensitive worker information.  OSHA also admits that it has not devised a plan for how it would “collect, process, analyze distribute, and programmatically apply” this information in a meaningful way to justify its collection.

OSHA seeks comment on this proposal, particularly on its impact on worker privacy, including the risks posed by exposing workers’ sensitive information to possible FOIA disclosure.  Comments, due on September 28, 2018, may be submitted to docket number OSHA-2013-0023.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the authors, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Team.

By Brent I. Clark, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA recently released new publications directed towards safety professionals and managers. The publications offer guidance on what to look for during worksite safety check walk-arounds.  In addition, OSHA suggests that the employer’s completed 300 logs may be used by the employer as a guide to improving worksite safety.

The publications are Safety Walk-Around for Managers, Walk-Arounds for Safety Officers, and That Was No Accident! Using Your OSHA 300 Log to Improve Safety and Health.  While these publications may be useful tools to supplement current workplace safety programs and policies, these should not be considered rules or templates for adoption.  Each workplace is different and compliance may vary substantially from location to location.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the authors, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Team.

By Benjamin D. Briggs, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has just reminded temporary staffing agencies and their clients (i.e., host employers) that they are jointly responsible for a  temporary employee’s safety and health in two new guidance documents relating to respiratory protection, noise exposure, and hearing conservation. Temporary agencies and host employers that use their services should review this guidance in carrying out their shared responsibility for temporary worker safety.

Nearly two years after the last bulletin, OSHA has just released two new temporary worker bulletins relating to respiratory protection, noise exposure, and hearing conservation.  See Temporary Worker Initiative (TWI) Bulletin No. 8 – Respiratory Protection, and Temporary Worker Initiative Bulletin No. 9 – Noise Exposure and hearing Conservation.

We have blogged previously about OSHA’s enforcement activities and guidance documents relating to temporary workers: “OSHA Releases Two More Temporary Worker Guidance Documents,” “New Guidance for ‘Recommended Practices’ to Protect Temporary Workers,” “OSHA Issues Memo to ‘Remind’ its Field Staff about Enforcement Policy on Temporary Workers,” and “OSHRC Reviews Employment Relationships.”

Under TWI Bulletin No. 8, OSHA notes that both the host employer and staffing agency are “jointly responsible to ensure workers wear appropriate respirators when required. While both the host and the staffing agency are responsible to ensure that the employee is properly protected in accordance with the standard, the employers may decide that a division of the responsibility may be appropriate. Neither the host nor the staffing agency can require workers to provide or pay for their own respiratory protection when it is required.”

Under TWI Bulletin No. 9, OSHA notes that both the host employer and staffing agency are jointly responsible for ensuring that “workers receive protection from hazardous noise levels when it is required under OSHA standards. Neither the host nor the staffing agency can require workers to provide or pay for their own hearing protection devices or require workers to purchase such devices as a condition of employment or placement. In addition, employees must be paid for the time spent receiving their audiograms, and the audiograms must be at no cost to the employee.”

Employer Takeaway

It is OSHA’s view that staffing agencies and host employers are jointly responsible for temporary workers’ safety and health. However, as the two newly published bulletin’s make clear, fulfilling the shared responsibility for temporary worker safety requires thoughtful coordination between staffing agencies and host employers. OSHA has previously acknowledged that a host employer may have more knowledge of the specific hazards associated with the host worksite, while the staffing agency has a more generalized safety responsibility to the employees. As a result, OSHA allows host employers and staffing agencies to divide training responsibilities based upon their respective knowledge of the hazards associated with the specific worksite. While host employers will typically have primary responsibility for training and communication regarding site specific hazards, staffing agencies must make reasonable inquiries to verify that the host employer is meeting these requirements.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the authors, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Team.

By James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, and  Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA reminded specific employers on Monday that the deadline for electronically submitting their 2017 Form 300A data to OSHA is July 1, 2018.

Electronic submission of 2017 Form 300A data is due by July 1, 2018 for establishments with 250 or more employees that are currently required to keep OSHA injury and illness records, and establishments with 20-249 employees that are classified in specific industries. Form 300As should be submitted using OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA).

Each establishment’s Form 300A for 2018 will be due March 2, 2019. We will continue to monitor OSHA’s activities relating to this rule. OSHA has indicated that it will be reviewing the rule and will be issuing future guidance or revisions.

Employers operating facilities in state plan states should check with their local state plan office to confirm each individual state’s e-filing requirements. For example, Kentucky OSHA requires e-filing using Federal OSHA’s ITA, while the State of  Washington has indicated that employers with facilities in Washington State are not required to e-file on Federal OSHA’s ITA.

We have previously blogged concerning OSHA’s contentious electronic reporting rules.  See All State Plan Employers are Now Required to Electronically File 2017 Form 300A Data, OSHA Intends to “Reconsider, Revise, or Remove Portions” of Injury and Illness E-Reporting Rule Next Year, OSHA Delays Electronic Filing Date for Injury and Illness Records Until December 1, 2017, and Despite Lawsuit, OSHA Publishes Interpretation for New Workplace Injury and Illness Reporting Rule.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the author, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Team.

By Mark A. Lies, II, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent Eastern District of Wisconsin case held that an OSHA 11(c) retaliation claim will survive summary judgment where the employer failed to comply with its own investigation procedures.

In Acosta v Dura-Fibre, No. 17-C-589, 27 OSHC 1179 (ED Wis. May 30, 2018), under the employer’s, Dura-Fibre, LLC’s (Employer), Accident Reporting/Investigation Plan (Injury Reporting Policy), if an employee is injured or almost injured at work, he must report the injury or “near miss.”  The Employer instituted the Injury Reporting Policy to emphasize timeliness in reporting injuries and to create a “near miss” program to increase reports of unsafe acts that did not result in injury.   The Injury Reporting Policy required that an employee notify a supervisor of an accident or “near miss” as soon as possible, or by the end of the employee’s shift.  The Injury Reporting Policy defined accident as “any occurrence that led to physical harm or injury to an employee and/or led to damage of company property” and near miss as “any occurrence that did not result in an accident but could have.”

The Employer required that employees report all injuries, even if the employee did not consider the injury to be serious.  Any employee that failed to report an accident or near miss in a timely manner could be subjected to discipline up to and including termination.  After the company’s assessment of the injury report, a “Safety Incident Report” would be prepared that determined whether the employee should receive disciplinary points in accordance with the Employer’s 24-point disciplinary program.  Under the disciplinary program, employees may be assigned a designated number of points for violations of the company’s rules and policies, such as failing to report an injury to a supervisor by the end of his shift, failing to use safety equipment, or committing an “unsafe act.”

The Injury Reporting Policy does not, though, define the phrase “unsafe act.” With the uncertain definition of the term “unsafe act” and the disciplinary points employees could receive for committing an “unsafe act,” the Secretary argued that employees were naturally reluctant to report injuries or illnesses they sustained.

The Court noted that as such, employees who suffered injuries on the job found themselves in a classic “catch 22”: “if they are injured at work, they must report the injury to a supervisor or face discipline, but if they do report an injury, management may well conclude the injury resulted from their own unsafe act for which they will also face discipline. Either way, the employee risks discipline.”  It is in this context that this claim arises.

The Secretary asserted that the Employer violated section 11(c) the OSH Act when it retaliated against the Employee by assessing him disciplinary points after he reported injuries on two separate occasions, and then ultimately terminated him under its disciplinary policy.

The Employer did not dispute that the Secretary had satisfied the first and second elements of the prima facie case.  The Employee engaged in protected activity when he reported to company management that he injured his ankle and another employee injured his shoulder. The Employee suffered three adverse actions in the form of disciplinary points for the late reporting of the other employee’s injury, and for engaging in an unsafe act in relation to his own injury, as well as termination of his employment.

The Court found sufficient evidence of pretext from two sources.  First, the Company did not discipline employees who reported “unsafe acts” relating to near misses.  Accordingly, the Court concluded that injured employees were allegedly more likely to be disciplined and thereby deterred from reporting .  Second, the Court noted that the Employer failed to follow its own accident investigation procedures.  The Court found a  technical “apparent deviation” from the procedure enough to be a triable issue, and denied summary judgment.  The case will proceed to trial.

Accordingly, employers need to maintain reporting policies with regard to all unsafe acts, near misses, and accidents.  Employers must consistently investigate accidents and enforce all safety rules.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the author, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Teams.

By James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA has just released a Memorandum on the Enforcement Launch for the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard in General Industry and Maritime rules.

In its June 7, 2018 Memorandum about the new Crystalline Silica Standard OSHA states that it will shortly issue interim enforcement guidance until a compliance directive on the new standards is finalized.

The OSHA Memorandum also declares that during the first 30 days of enforcement, OSHA “will assist employers that are making good faith efforts to meet the new standard’s requirements.  If upon inspection, it appears an employer is not making any efforts to comply, compliance officers should conduct air monitoring in accordance with Agency procedures, and consider citations for non-compliance with any applicable sections of the new standard.  Any proposed citations related to inspections conducted in this 30-day time period will require National Office review prior to issuance.”

Most of the provisions of the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for General Industry and Maritime, 29 CFR § 1910.1053, will become enforceable on June 23, 2018. The standard establishes a new 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 µg/m3, an action level (AL) of 25 µg/m3, and additional ancillary requirements.

We have previously blogged on the new silica standard.  See OSHA Publishes Crystalline Silica Standards Rule Fact Sheets for Construction, Circuit Court Finds OSHA Failed to Adequately Explain the Crystalline Silica Standards Rule, and OSHA Publishes “Small Entity Compliance” Guides for the Crystalline Silica Standards.

For employers and industry stakeholders, OSHA provides a General Industry and Maritime Fact Sheet with a summary of the new regulatory requirements under the rule. OSHA also provides a Small Entity Compliance Guide for small entities.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the authors, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Team.

By Brent I. Clark, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent report indicates that vector-borne diseases are a rising causes of illness for outdoor workers in the United States.  Vital Signs: Trends in Reported Vectorborne Disease Cases — United States and Territories, 2004–2016 (May 4, 2018).  As summer approaches, employers in the construction, landscaping, outdoor hospitality, and other outdoor industries should take steps to inform and protect their workers from vector-borne disease.

In its report, the CDC found that the most common vector-borne pathogens in the United States are transmitted by ticks or mosquitoes, including those causing Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and West Nile, dengue, and Zika virus diseases.  This CDC report examined trends in nationally reportable vector-borne diseases between 2004–2016. We have previously written about Zika, including, Zika – Employer Liability Issues and Zika Virus Spreading to United States: OSHA Provides Recommendations.

Due to the outdoor nature of certain types of work, such as construction, landscaping, and outdoor hospitality work such as at golf courses and pools, employers should be mindful of informing their employees on how to protect themselves from vector-borne diseases, how to recognize the symptoms of vector-borne diseases, and what to do if they believe they have contracted a vectorborne disease.

According to the CDC, the following diseases are currently reported as being transmitted somewhere in the United States, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa:

  • Lyme disease;
  • West Nile, dengue and Zika virus diseases;
  • Plague (Yersinia pestis); and
  • Spotted fever rickettsioses.

CDC notes that malaria and yellow fever are no longer transmitted in the United States but have the potential to be reintroduced.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides limited guidance (Lyme Disease, Zika) for employers in the construction or outdoor-services industries. However, this guidance is generally applicable to help prevent any vector-borne disease:

  • Avoid brushy, overgrown grassy, and wooded habitats;
  • Remove leaves, tall grass, and brush from areas surrounding work areas or residential areas, thereby reducing tick, deer, and rodent habitat;
  • Eliminate sources of standing water (e.g., tires, buckets, cans, bottles, barrels) whenever possible to reduce or eliminate mosquito breeding areas. Train workers about the importance of eliminating areas where mosquitos can breed at the worksite;
  • Wear long-sleeved shirts and tucking pant legs into socks or boots to prevent ticks and mosquitos from reaching the skin;
  • Wear high boots or closed shoes that cover the entire foot;
  • Wear a hat with mosquito netting;
  • Spray insect repellents (containing DEET) on exposed skin, excluding the face. Use permethrin on clothes to kill ticks on contact) (don’t forget hazard communication training);
  • Wear light-colored clothing so that ticks can be more easily seen and removed before attachment occurs;
  • Check the body carefully for ticks or mosquito bites; if ticks are found, promptly removing them with tweezers. (DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove the tick).

According to the CDC, between 2004-2016, a total 642,602 cases of vector-borne diseases were reported.  During this time, tick-borne bacterial and protozoan diseases more than doubled, from over 22,000 in 2004 to over 48,000 in 2016. Lyme disease accounted for 82% of all tick-borne disease reported across the continental United States. Mosquito-transmission in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa accounted for most reports of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus diseases, while West Nile virus, transmitted by mosquito, was reported across the continental United States.

For more information on this or any related topic please contact the author, your Seyfarth attorney, or any member of the Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA/MSHA) Team.

Seyfarth Synopsis: This morning our panel from Seyfarth’s Workplace Safety team led a briefing on OSHA regulation and enforcement under the Trump Administration. 

One year into the Trump Administration, employers’ expectations for a more business-friendly Agency have not yet materialized, as the still-leaderless Agency proceeds ahead with widespread aggressive enforcement. The panel addressed recent developments and trends our Group has seen from federal OSHA, including the stalled nomination of Scott Mugno to head the Agency.  The panel also discussed:

  • Continued Aggressive Enforcement Trends Under the Trump Administration
  • Ongoing OSHA Initiatives such as Electronic Reporting
  • Workplace Violence
  • The Rise of Whistleblowers
  • Best Practices for Managing an OSHA Inspection

Finally, the panel discussed practical tips to guide employers in this new regulatory environment.

If you were able to attend, thank you very much.  If not, see you next time. Either way, here are our presentation slides. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions on the materials.

For more information on Seyfarth’s Workplace Safety and Environmental team, see our recent blog posts and articles.

By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, Patrick D. Joyce, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen

Seyfarth Synopsis: Due to the increased use of robotics and computer automation for many job functions that have historically been performed by employees raises, besides the traditional personnel and employment issues, a host of workplace safety issues.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) has been working to address potential safety hazards posed by robotics in the workplace for many years. As early as 1987, in OSHA’s Guidelines for Robotics Safety, Directive No. STD 01-12-002, OSHA noted that “industrial robots can be used to perform hazardous tasks but in doing so they can create new hazards. With the burgeoning use of robots in industry, it is feared that without adequate guarding and personnel training, injury rates for employees working with robots may increase.”

Workplace Robotics Safety

Employers traditionally have called upon robots to perform unsafe, hazardous, highly repetitive, and “unpleasant” tasks, reducing potential hazards associated with those specific functions. Early robots, which mainly conducted a pre-programmed task and did not have any “intelligence” as many robots do now, created potential hazards not only under normal operating conditions, but also during “programming, adjustment, testing, cleaning, inspection, and repair periods.”

During workplace robot functions, the operator, programmer, or maintenance worker may temporarily walk within the robot’s “work envelope” (the area around the robot where performs its task) while power is available to moveable elements of the robot. This created potential machine guarding, lockout/tagout, and electrical safety hazards, among others. In addition, as industrial robots have advanced over the years, they have performed increasingly complex tasks with multiple tools and variable programmed motions, potentially exposing more employees to different hazards.

OSHA’s lockout/tagout regulations require employers to protect employees from unexpected energization of machinery by, among other things, dissipating all sources of energy when the machines are not in use and installing a lock. With robots, the primary source of protection from unexpected movement is a “programmable logic controller” or “PLC.” PLCs limit robots from moving when not performing their pre-programmed tasks and functions or if a certain condition is met – i.e. an interlocked door is open. While these PLC devices typically “fail to safe,” OSHA has been reluctant to accept them as equally effective means of employee protection along the lines of machine guarding or lockout/tagout.

Now, some thirty years after their widespread appearance in the workplace, robotics and computer automation have permeated nearly every industry, including manufacturing, warehousing, and even retail, potentially exposing additional workers to hazards. In Japan, some coffee shops now serve coffee utilizing robotic “baristas.”

OSHA’s Online Technical Manual Regarding Workplace Robotics

While OSHA has not promulgated regulations specifically covering use of robots in the workplace, OSHA has created an online technical manual to inform employers about the hazards associated with robotics and automated machinery, such as those which may result from malfunctions or errors in the programming or interfacing with peripheral equipment. Operational changes with the process being performed or the breakdown of other machinery or electronic sensors could also cause the robotics to react in an unwanted and hazardous manner. In its tool, OSHA identifies the following as important considerations for any employer intending to use robots in the workplace:

  1. Types of Accidents. Robotic incidents can be grouped into four categories:
    1. Impact or Collision Accidents. Unexpected movements, component malfunctions, or unpredicted program changes related to the robot’s arm or peripheral equipment can result in contact accidents.
    2. Crushing and Trapping Accidents. A worker’s limb or other body part can be trapped between a robot and other peripheral equipment, or the individual may be physically driven into and crushed by other peripheral equipment.
    3. Mechanical Part Accidents. The breakdown of the robot’s drive components, tooling or end-effector, peripheral equipment, or its power source is a mechanical accident. The release of parts, failure of gripper mechanism, or the failure of end-effector power tools (e.g., grinding wheels, buffing wheels, deburring tools, power screwdrivers, and nut runners) are a few types of mechanical failures.
    4. Other Accidents. Other accidents can result from working with robots. Equipment that supplies robot power and control represents potential electrical and pressurized fluid hazards. Ruptured hydraulic lines could create dangerous high-pressure cutting streams or whipping hose hazards. Environmental accidents from arc flash, metal spatter, dust, electromagnetic, or radio-frequency interference can also occur. In addition, equipment and power cables on the floor present tripping hazards.
  2. Sources of Hazards. The expected sources of potential robotics hazards include:
    1. Human Errors. Human errors in the programming, interfacing peripheral equipment, or connecting live input-output sensors to the robot or a peripheral device can cause dangerous, unpredicted movement or action by the robot. The incorrect activation of the “teach pendant” or control panel is a frequent human error. The greatest problem, however, is operators’ familiarity and complacency with the robot’s redundant motions so that an individual places himself in a hazardous position within the robot’s “work envelope” while programming the robot or performing maintenance on it.
    2. Control Errors. Intrinsic faults within the PLC control system of the robot, errors in software, electromagnetic interference, and radio frequency interference. In addition, these errors can occur due to faults in the hydraulic, pneumatic, or electrical sub-controls associated with the robot or robot system.
    3. Unauthorized Access. Entry into a robot’s safeguarded area is hazardous because the person involved may not be familiar with the safeguards in place or their activation status.
    4. Mechanical Failures. Operating programs may not account for cumulative mechanical failure, resulting in faulty or unexpected operation.
    5. Environmental Sources. Electromagnetic or radio-frequency interference (transient signals) could affect robotic operation and increase the potential for injury to any person working in the area.
    6. Power Systems. Pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrical power sources that have malfunctioning control or transmission elements in the robot power system can disrupt electrical signals to the control and/or power-supply lines. Fire risks are increased by electrical overloads or by use of flammable hydraulic oil. Electrical shock and release of stored energy from accumulating devices also can be hazardous to personnel.
    7. Improper Installation. The design, requirements, and layout of equipment, utilities, and facilities of a robot or robot system, if inadequately done, can lead to inherent hazards.

While, again, OSHA does not have regulations specific to robots in the workplace, employers would be wise to conduct job hazard analyses and evaluate any existing or potential robotic equipment installation, to abate any hazards posed by these machines.

Safety Regulation of Autonomous (Robotic) Vehicles

The ongoing robot revolution has ventured into the future of passenger and commercial vehicles. Some employers have embraced the possibilities of a potential transition to autonomous (technically, “robotic”) vehicles as an opportunity to limit driving-related hazards to their employees .

In a recent study, the U.S. Department of Commerce found that 15 million US workers (about one in every nine workers) drove vehicles as part of their jobs.  These jobs are concentrated in the transportation and warehousing industries. The study highlighted that the fatality rate (per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) for motor vehicle operators from on-the-job roadway incidents involving motor vehicles is ten times the rate for all workers, and the numbers of roadway motor vehicle occupational injuries resulting in lost work time (per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) is 8.7 times as large as that of all workers.

It should be noted that automated vehicles present their own hazards. OSHA has not yet weighed in on how employers should address hazards posed by autonomous cars and trucks at their facilities.

With regard to driving on public roads, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released new federal guidance for Automated Driving Systems (ADS), which should provide preliminary guidance with regard to some of the safety issues posed by autonomous vehicles. Employers should watch these developments closely, as new technologies change the marketplace and potentially affect employee safety.

Seyfarth’s attorneys have experience working with and advising employers on the hazards associated with robotics, the use of automated machinery, and autonomous vehicles. Please reach out to your Seyfarth attorney if you have any questions related to these issues.

Seyfarth Synopsis: On Tuesday, May 15, 2018, a panel from Seyfarth’s Workplace Safety team will lead an interactive Breakfast Briefing on OSHA regulation and enforcement. 

One year into the Trump Administration, employers’ expectations for a more business-friendly Agency have not yet materialized, as the still-leaderless Agency proceeds ahead with widespread aggressive enforcement. The panel will address the new developments and trends we have seen from federal OSHA, including the stalled nomination of Scott Mugno to head the Agency.  The panel will also discuss:

  • Continued Aggressive Enforcement Trends Under the Trump Administration
  • Ongoing OSHA Initiatives such as Electronic Reporting
  • Workplace Violence
  • The Rise of Whistleblowers
  • Best Practices for Managing an OSHA Inspection

Finally, the panel will discuss best practices for managing an OSHA inspection, with practical tips to guide employers in this new regulatory environment.  To register for the Breakfast Briefing, follow the link below.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast & Registration
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Program

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
233 S Wacker Dr., Suite 8000
Chicago, IL, 60605

Register Here

For more information on Seyfarth’s Workplace Safety and Environmental team, see our recent blog posts and articles.