OSHA watch

Beryllium standard delayed

The beryllium standard, published 11 days before President Trump's inauguration, is one of the rules delayed 60 days by the Trump administration's Jan. 20 regulatory freeze and review instructions. Federal agencies are to send no new rules to the Federal Register, withdraw rules sent but not yet published, and delay the effective date by 60 days of any rule published that has not taken effect.

The rule, which was to go in effect March 10, reduces the eight-hour permissible exposure limit from the previous level of 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter to 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter. Above that level, employers must take steps to reduce the airborne concentration of beryllium. It also requires additional protections, including personal protective equipment, medical exams and other medical surveillance and training and establishes a short-term exposure limit of 2.0 micrograms per cubic meter over a 15-minute sampling period.

Fines increase

The penalty increases, effective Jan. 13, mean that the maximum fine faced by employers for willful and repeat violations will rise to $126,749, while the maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious citations will increase to $12,675.

See related article OSHA fines increase and some startling facts about them in this edition.

Recommended best practices to guard against retaliation

Recommended practices to guard against retaliation against employees reporting workplace safety concerns were recently released.

The recommendations provide examples of what anti-retaliation training should entail; provides helpful guidance to employers by outlining five key elements of an effective anti-retaliation program: management leadership, commitment and accountability; a system for listening to and resolving employees' safety and compliance concerns; a system for receiving and responding to reports of retaliation; anti-retaliation training for employees and managers; and program oversight.

The recommendations are advisory only and do not carry the weight of regulations.

Recent fines and awards

Florida

• Jasper Roofing Contractors and its CEO face a lawsuit after a safety manager alleges retaliation for cooperating with a safety investigation.

Georgia

• Atlanta-based paper, plastic recycler, Nemo Plastics Inc. was cited with 21 serious health and safety violations for exposing workers to fire, explosion, and machine guarding hazards. Proposed penalties are $133,443.

Illinois

• A Chicago metal container manufacturer, B-Way Corp, faces more than $81,000 in penalties after a third worker suffered an amputation injury in 18 months. Investigators found the company did not properly install the machine's safety guards, nor properly train workers in lockout/tagout procedures.
• Belleville roofing contractor, Robert Barringer III, which operates as Barringer Brothers Roofing, is facing $214,782 in proposed penalties for exposing workers to fall hazards and has been placed in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
• Winnetka-based Redhawk Roofing was cited for four repeated safety violations when workers roofing a residential home were exposed to fall hazards and faces $63,494 in proposed penalties.
• A Park Ridge masonry contractor, Polo Masonry Builders Inc., was cited with two repeated and eight serious safety and health violations after inspectors observed the workers atop a four-story building. The company faces $77,606 in proposed penalties.
• Under terms of a settlement agreement, a pipefitter, previously employed by John Deere, will receive a total of $204,315 in back wages and "front pay" and $70,685 in other damages. The lawsuit alleged the pipefitter was terminated from the Moline facility after reporting unsafe working conditions and filing a complaint after the company failed to correct one of the unsafe conditions.

Massachusetts

• Bellingham-based, John's Used Autos and Parts LLC, faces $27,157 in proposed penalties for failing to provide adequate training and safeguards to protect workers, following the death of an employee when he was struck in the head by a chain come-a-long device as he attempted to inflate and mount a multi-piece rim wheel.

New York

• Inspected in response to a complaint, The Landtek Group Inc., a general contractor faces $197,000 in fines for exposing workers to excavation hazards at a high school construction site.

Pennsylvania

• BHC Northwest Psychiatric Hospital LLC, doing business as Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital, of Fort Washington faces fines of $32,000 for exposing employees to workplace violence and other hazards. The hospital was cited under the General Duty Clause.
• Pennsylvania-based SanCasT faces $235,879 in fines at its Ohio casting and foundry facility for machine and fall hazards found during a follow-up inspection.

Wisconsin

• Monroe Clinic, Inc., a local medical clinic, failed to tell maintenance workers they were being exposed to hazardous asbestos material - which the company identified in 2008 - and did not provide workers with protective equipment. The clinic faces $261,890 in proposed penalties.
• Green Bay manufacturer, Bay Fabrication, faces more than $219,000 in proposed penalties for failure to properly guard machines, after two workers suffered severe injuries within 10 days.
• A Marathon-based lumber company, Menzner Lumber and Supply, faces fines of $260,113 after a worker suffered a partial amputation of his finger because the company lacked adequate safeguards and workers were not properly trained in isolating energy to machines.
• An investigation prompted by the death of a 17-year-old worker, two weeks after starting the job at a Columbus metal fabrication facility, G.D. Roberts & Co. Inc., has resulted in multiple safety and health violations and proposed penalties of $119,725.

Detailed descriptions of the citations above and other OSHA citations can be found here.