The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducts workplace safety inspections and issues citations, and, as previously discussed, all penalties assessed after January 15 include increased amounts – with Citations classified as “Serious” having a maximum penalty of $13,653 and Citations classified as “Willful” or “Repeat” having a maximum penalty of $136,532. And while employers may contest these citations, there will be times when you have to pay some penalty amounts to OSHA — often after a negotiated settlement with OSHA or after getting some but not all citation it ..read more

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released a new Instruction implementing a new Site-Specific Targeting inspection plan for non-construction worksites. What do employers need to know about this new guidance issued on December 14 ..read more

The Department of Labor has just published its increases to the maximum civil penalties that can be assessed against employers by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The increases are based on annual cost-of-living adjustments and, for 2021, are relatively modest.  ..read more

One of President-elect Biden’s first actions when he assumes office may be creating an emergency standard for COVID-19 through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As Fisher Phillips noted in November when analyzing the workplace safety actions his administration was likely to take, Biden would be most likely to work with unions and worker advocacy groups to create this standard ..read more

In what could be one of the more significant redirections of a government agency, the Biden administration’s transition team will almost certainly appoint a union-supported candidate to replace the current Assistant Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, David Zatezalo. Biden’s candidacy revolved around a pro-labor agenda, and his transition team remains focused on expanding workers’ rights in the workplace ..read more

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a finalizing rule to shorten the quarantine period for people exposed to COVID-19 from 14 days to seven to 10 days, according to an exclusive report in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. Henry Walke, the CDC’s coronavirus incident manager, indicated that a shortened quarantine period would include a requirement that the person receive a negative test before ending their quarantine period ..read more

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just issued guidance and an accompanying one-page summary outlining which standards are most frequently cited during coronavirus-related inspections. OSHA based these documents on data gleaned from citations issued as the result of complaints, referrals, and fatalities related to COVID-19. According to OSHA, most of these citations were issued to industries such as hospitals and healthcare, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and meat/poultry processing plants. However, all employers should take note in order to avoid similar pi ..read more

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enforces the Hazardous Materials Regulations on our nation’s highways, requiring anyone who offers, ships, or transports a hazardous material to include shipping papers that describe the hazardous materials. Shipping paper regulations are some of the most frequently violated hazardous materials regulations because they apply so broadly ..read more

Cal/OSHA recently cited 11 employers in the food processing, meatpacking, health care, agriculture, and retail industries for not protecting employees from potential exposure to COVID-19. The state safety enforcement agency targeted these industries after several employee complaints and a spike in infection rates. It then initiated a number of strategic enforcement efforts to ensure all employers have adequate workplace safety plans to address COVID-19-specific hazards.  ..read more

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