Unintentional injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., following heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke*. To reduce injuries in the workplace, OSHA issues safety regulations that employers must satisfy.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces. “This rule will provide construction workers with protections already afforded to workers in manufacturing and general industry, with some differences tailored to the construction industry,” said OSHA chief David Michaels, who predicted that it will prevent 800 serious injuries and save five lives a year.
OSHA this week published a final rule finalizing procedures for handling whistleblower retaliation complaints filed under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The SOX Act protects employees who report fraudulent activities and violations of Securities Exchange Commission rules that can harm investors in publicly traded companies.
Chilworth Technology, Inc. (Chilworth) announced today that its dust explosion testing and Process Safety Management services will help all process manufacturing industries, including the agricultural industries, address OSHA’s hazard communications rule covering combustible dust.
The ability to report severe injuries online in order to comply with updates to OSHA’s recordkeeping rule that went into effect Jan. 1st will not be available until mid-January, according to the agency. “The electronic form is currently under development,” according to a statement from OSHA.
Confused about the new OSHA reporting requirements that go into effect January 1? The agency will take to Twitter on Dec. 11 from 1 – 2 p.m. EST to answer your questions. You can join the Twitter chat and follow the conversation live using the hashtag #Reporting2015.
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:
