By James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: With a larger base of compliance officers, OSHA has significantly increased its ability to conduct on-site inspections and reorient its enforcement strategies.
OSHA’s budget was essentially flat during the Trump Administration. As health care costs increased and compliance safety and health officers retired, OSHA struggled
Continue Reading OSHA Significantly Increases the Number of Investigators
By James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, Mark A. Lies, II, Daniel R. Birnbaum, Patrick D. Joyce, Brent I. Clark, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA is beginning to review work related stress as a workplace hazard falling under its jurisdiction.
OSHA, citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention July 2018
Continue Reading OSHA Highlights Stress and Mental Health in the WorkplaceBy James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Safety Council (NSC) released an update to its annual list of OSHA’s top-ten cited standards. The list provides a starting point for employers to review their own safety programs on an annual basis.
Patrick Kapust, deputy director of
Continue Reading Another Year In The Books – OSHA’s Top Ten Safety Violations for Fiscal Year 2022By Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: With Hurricane Ian drenching the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Atlantic coastal states, employers are facing daunting emergencies, safety and health risks, property damage, employee disruption, and re-building.
This blog contains an updated primer on (1) preparing for an emergency;
Continue Reading The Rain is Coming Again: Disaster Preparedness, Recovery, and Employee Safety During Hurricane Season
By Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, Patrick D. Joyce, Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: While completing the healthcare COVID-19 standard continues to be the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s top rulemaking priority, Doug Parker, U.S. DOL’s Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, told
Continue Reading OSHA Healthcare COVID-19 Rule Takes Priority over Heat Illness, Workplace Violence
By Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, Patrick D. Joyce, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA’s Region III issued a Regional Emphasis Program (REP) instruction (CPL 2022-01 (CPL 4)) for Warehousing Operations, that went into effect on August 3, 2022 and “establishes policies and strategies to be followed when
Continue Reading Warehousing and Logistics: New OSHA Emphasis Program Brings Promise of Aggressive Enforcement
By James L. Curtis, A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 15, 2022, U.S. Department of Labor’ Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced expanded criteria for placement in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (“SVEP”). The new criteria widens the scope of applicable violations to
Continue Reading DOL Adopts an Expanded OSHA Severe Violator Enforcement Program
By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA is highlighting trenching hazards, and their potentially-dire consequences, on its homepage.
OSHA had released CPL 02-00-161 on October 1, 2018, continuing its National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation, (“NEP”), and requiring agency compliance safety and health
Continue Reading OSHA Focusing on Trenching Hazards
By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA is highlighting those employed through staffing agencies, generally called temporary or supplied workers, on its homepage. “Temporary workers” are workers supplied to a host employer and paid by a staffing agency, whether or not
Continue Reading OSHA Focuses on Temporary Worker Employer Responsibilities and Guidance
By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The CDC has found that COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are leveling off from their rise over the summer. The CDC advises that Americans can help prevent these numbers from increasing again by staying up to date with
Continue Reading CDC Interpretive Summary on COVID-19 for August 26, 2022