By Amanda R. Strainis-Walker and Eric J. Conn With the dog days of summer around the corner, OSHA just put out a press release reminding employers with outside workplaces about OSHA’s focus on the hazards of working in high heat. The press release reinvigorates OSHA’s heat-related illness campaign that began leading into last summer, when… Continue Reading
Category Archives: General Duty Clause
Subscribe to General Duty Clause RSS FeedWorkplace Violence Policies and Background Checks Are Essential Components of a Prevention Plan
By Kara M. Maciel Sadly, workplace violence continues to be a topic that challenges many organizations. Indeed, as the news reports continue to remind us, employees and non-employees often take out their aggression and violent acts within the workplace. As the recent attacks at hospitals in Pittsburgh and in Washington, D.C. demonstrate, there remains a… Continue Reading
OSHA Launches New Nursing Home National Emphasis Program
By Julia E. Loyd and Eric J. Conn Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) launched a new National Emphasis Program targeting Nursing Homes and Residential Care facilities (“Nursing Home NEP”). In an accompanying Press Release, OSHA announced that the Nursing Home NEP aims to protect workers from safety… Continue Reading
Text Free Zone: OSHA’s Distracted Driving Initiative Kicks Into Gear
By Casey M. Cosentino and Eric J. Conn “Texting while driving” is an epidemic in America, which has prompted forty-two states and the District of Columbia to ban (completely or partially) this conduct for drivers. Here’s a map of the U.S. states that have enacted some ban on texting while driving. Studies suggest that texting while driving distracts… Continue Reading
OSHA Finally Releases Its Watered-Down Fall 2011 Regulatory Agenda
By Paul H. Burmeister and Eric J. Conn At the end of January 2012, OSHA finally released its Fall 2011 regulatory agenda, which is intended to be an overview of what OSHA plans to accomplish in the next few months. The agenda includes updates about the status of several major OSHA rulemaking efforts. Below is… Continue Reading
2011 Rundown of OSHA’s Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program and Rulemaking
By Amanda R. Strainis-Walker and Eric J. Conn OSHA’s keen interest in enforcement related to combustible dust shows no sign of waning as we close the door on 2011. OSHA’s Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP), initiated in 2008, continued in earnest through 2011, and notably, has no expiration date. The number of violations and the… Continue Reading
OSHA Forecast – Top 5 OSHA Developments to Look Out For In 2012
By Eric J. Conn and Amanda R. Strainis-Walker As the clock winds down on 2011, a truly remarkable year of OSHA enforcement, it is time to think about 2012. Notwithstanding the fact that 2012 is an election year, and much of OSHA’s rulemaking activities will be shelved until the day after the election, 2012 is… Continue Reading
OSHA’s New Laboratory Safety Guidance Paves the Way for Enforcement Actions
By Alexis M. Downs and Eric J. Conn Employers who operate laboratories are suddenly receiving a high level of attention from federal safety and health regulators. Following a string of serious laboratory accidents, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (the “CSB”) posted an informational video on its website detailing hazards at chemical laboratories, based on… Continue Reading
Housekeepers Use OSHA as a Weapon Against Hospitality Employers
By Jay P. Krupin, Kara M. Maciel, and Eric J. Conn As we reported in our blog post in November of 2010, hotel housekeepers across the nation launched a concerted program of filing complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleging a range of ergonomic and chemical exposure injuries sustained on the job. Government regulators… Continue Reading
Hotel Housekeepers File OSHA Complaints Nationwide
By Jay P. Krupin and Kara M. Maciel Last week, on November 9, 2010, housekeepers employed by Hyatt Hotels filed complaints with OSHA alleging injuries sustained on the job. The complaints were filed in eight cities across the country, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Beach, San Antonio, Honolulu and Indianapolis. Similar OSHA actions may… Continue Reading