By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: A Democratic lead House subcommittee has proposed a large budget increase for both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The Democratic budget proposal would allocate more than $660.9 million for OSHA in fiscal year 2020 – around $103 million more than the
Continue Reading Democratic House Proposes Large Increases for OSHA and MSHA Budgets
By Brent I. Clark, Ilana R. Morady, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: MSHA just announced a Request for Information (RFI) on safety improvement technologies for mobile equipment and for belt conveyors, both at surface mines. 83 Fed. Reg. 29716 (June 26, 2018).
In its RFI MSHA notes that “mining safety could be substantially improved by preventing
Continue Reading MSHA Issues RFI for Safety Improvement Technologies and Belt Conveyors
By Brent I. Clark, Ilana R. Morady, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: MSHA just announced its Final Rule on Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines. 83 Fed. Reg. 15055 (April 9, 2018).
The Final Rule, which will be effective on June 2, 2018, requires that:
By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, Ilana R. Morady, Patrick D. Joyce, Adam R. Young, and Daniel Birnbaum
Seyfarth Synopsis: Here is today’s update from the presentations and room discussions at the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee’s 2018 Midwinter Meeting.
We are attending the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law
Continue Reading Update From the Midwinter Meeting of the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee
By Brent I. Clark, Adam R. Young, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has found a seven percent increase in 2016 fatal injuries reported over those reported in 2015. BLS noted that this was the third consecutive increase in annual workplace fatalities. The statistics show an ongoing struggle for employers with
Continue Reading Transportation and Workplace Violence Stand Out in Census of 2016 Fatal Occupational Injuries
By Brent I. Clark and Ilana R. Morady
Seyfarth Synopsis: The proposed MSHA rule would require mine operators to examine their mines and to notify miners of dangerous conditions.
MSHA announced today that it has formally submitted a proposed mine examination rule for publication in the June 8, 2016 Federal Register. 81 Fed. Reg. 36818.
The proposed
Continue Reading MSHA Announces Proposed Rule on Mine Examinations
By Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week an expansion of its worker endangerment initiative to address worker safety violations through the use of enhanced criminal fines and penalties.
According to Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, “on an average
Continue Reading Enhanced Criminal Prosecutions of Worker Safety Violations – Employers Beware
By James L. Curtis, Meagan Newman, and Ilana R. Morady
Last week we attended the ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Meeting in Naples, Florida. This included representatives from the OSHA Review Commission, the MSHA Review Commission, OSHA and MSHA Judges, and the Solicitor’s Office.
Tom Galassi, Director, Directorate of Enforcement of OSHA, spoke at length on Wednesday about
Continue Reading Report From The OSHA/MSHA ABA Law Conference
By Brent I. Clark, Kerry M. Mohan, and Craig B. Simonsen
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently sent three mining operations notices of a pattern of violations (POV) of health or safety standards under section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act). The MSHA POV screening this year was the
Continue Reading MSHA Aggressive Enforcement Activities Under the Pattern of Violation Rules
By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its preliminary “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.” The findings show an increase of twenty-three percent in the oil and gas extraction industries, a fourteen percent increase in the mining sector, and a five percent increase in the construction industry.