By James L. Curtis, Daniel Birnbaum, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: NIOSH reiterated last week that healthcare workers are exposed to a wide range of hazards on the job and healthcare employers may not be following best practices to protect against these hazards.
Healthcare is the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, employing over 18 million
Continue Reading Nothing to Sneeze At: Evaluating Employee Safety Protections in the Healthcare Industry
By James L. Curtis, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Despite Congressional direction to the contrary, OSHA just adopted a significant 500+ page final rule on industry, and only provided employers sixty days to comply!
Despite a Congressional “request” that agencies not move forward on new regulations during the transition to the Trump administration,
Continue Reading Wow! OSHA Releases Massive Rule Updating General Industry Standards on Walking-Working Surfaces
By Adam R. Young, Kylie Byron, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: NIOSH releases a comprehensive training curriculum that home healthcare employers can use to minimize safety risks and prevent OSHA citations.
We had blogged previously about OSHA’s “Strategies and Tools” to “Help Prevent” Workplace Violence in the Healthcare Setting. Now the National Institute for Occupational
Continue Reading NIOSH Offers Free Training Program to Help Employers Address Safety Risks Faced by Home Healthcare Workers
By Patrick D. Joyce and Craig B. Simonsen
On Thursday, February 11, 2016 OSHA and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hosted a public workshop to discuss draft Best Practices in Communication Tower Safety, which were compiled after a meeting of industry stakeholders and participants in a FCC and Department of Labor (DOL) Joint Workshop, held on October 14, 2014.
Continue Reading OSHA and FCC Hold Public Workshop on Draft Communication Tower Best Practices
By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
OSHA has released an “Inspection Guidance for Inpatient Healthcare Settings,” that will focus its inspectors attention to musculoskeletal disorders, workplace violence, bloodborne pathogens, tuberculosis, and slips, trips, and falls.
The Guidance focuses on hazards that were included in OSHA’s recently-concluded National Emphasis Program on Nursing and Residential Care Facilities, CPL
Continue Reading Healthcare Employers to Get Even More Attention from OSHA
By James L. Curtis, Kerry M. Mohan, and Craig B. Simonsen
Last October OSHA Administrator David Michaels had, stated that “we at OSHA are very concerned about the rising number of tower worker deaths. The fatality rate in this industry is extraordinarily high – tower workers are killed on the job at a rate
Continue Reading OSHA Rulemaking on Communication Tower Worker Safety
By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
In recent remarks by OSHA Administrator David Michaels at the “DOL-FCC Workshop on Tower Climber Safety and Injury Prevention,” Michaels indicated that “we at OSHA are very concerned about the rising number of tower worker deaths. The fatality rate in this industry is extraordinarily high – tower workers are killed on the
Continue Reading OSHA Prepares “Request for Information” to Prevent Communication Tower “Tragedies”
By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration released its 2014 Budget Justification this week, indicating implementation of its new “weighted inspection system” to target the most serious hazards such as those found in refineries, trenching, shipbreaking, falls, chemical plants and industries that use crystalline silica, lead, and hexavalent chromium.
The Agency plans
Continue Reading OSHA 2014 Budget Justification Will Implement Its New “Weighted Inspection System”