Disciplining employees for violating safety and health rules is a critical component of any good safety and health program. OSHA's recent policy on employee discipline for violating safety and health rules undercuts the use of such discipline and encourages employees to consider possible claims for retaliation.
2014 edition of Injury Facts® reveals largest safety threats facing Americans today
March 27, 2014
The National Safety Council today released the 2014 edition of Injury Facts®, which details safety statistics and trends across the U.S. and worldwide. Injury Facts has been the Council’s go-to resource for all safety statistics for more than 90 years.
Public disclosure of raw data “does not serve the public good”
March 27, 2014
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is urging OSHA to set aside its proposed rule to publicly disclose injury and illness data, saying that it will not contribute to the goal of improving workplace safety.
OSHA will be spending the rest of 2014 holding public hearings and reviewing the approximately 3,000 comments it has already received on its proposed crystalline silica rule. Although OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels has stated the the silica rule – which would reduce occupational exposure limits to the substance – is the agency’s top priority, the issue is “a long, long way from every being finalized,” according to Aaron K. Trippler of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against AT&T in Ohio after an OSHA investigation found that the company suspended 13 workers because they reported injuries.
Are corporations more concerned about reputations than worker safety?
January 24, 2014
Advocacy group Public Citizen is characterizing opposition to OSHA’s proposal to require electronic reporting of injury and illness data as corporations worried about being “named and shamed” by the online posting of the data that is part of the proposal.
OSHA’s proposal to improve the tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses will either improve worker safety or pose an undue burden on employers. Those are among the reactions being voiced by safety advocates and industry groups as OSHA holds public meetings on the proposal.
The tightly-knit Washington OSHA subculture will be out in force this Thursday no matter what the wind-chill factor is to attend an all-day (9-4:30) hearing at the Labor Department set up to, in Washington-speak, “allow interested parties to comment on the proposed rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses.
OSHA announced yesterday that it will extend the comment period to March 8, 2014 on the proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses.
Not quite sure who lit the fire at OSHA but the level of activity at the agency in the last two months is more activity than we have seen in the last several years combined. Now the question is likely to be whether or not any of this activity will result in completed actions. Here’s a look at the current activity: