OSHA watch
COVID-19
Federal
- New poster to protect automotive service workers available in English and Spanish
- A checklist to protect employees in FDA-regulated human and animal food operations amid the coronavirus pandemic developed in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- An alliance with the North American Meat Institute to provide guidance and training to protect workers in the meatpacking and processing industry
Cal/OSHA
- Temporary changes to guidance that health care workers be provided certified respirators in light of N95 mask shortages. Employees are permitted to use reusable respirators certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health instead of disposable filtering facepiece respirators and to wear their own respirator if it complies with Cal/OSHA requirements.
Michigan OSHA
- The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has launched a state emphasis program aimed at ensuring health care employers are providing workers who care for COVID-19 patients with the personal protective equipment they need.
Oregon OSHA
- The Department of Consumer and Business Services is proposing a temporary rule that would combat the spread of coronavirus in all workplaces by requiring employers to implement risk-reducing measures.
OIG report on whistleblower complaints
In response to the rising number of whistleblower cases since the pandemic outbreak, the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit and found that there are too few investigators to handle the volume of complaints, creating long delays. OIG found that in the first quarter of the year, it took an average of 279 days for OSHA to close an investigation, which is nearly double the amount of time the agency took to close cases in 2010. The report recommended that OSHA develop a caseload management plan to evenly distribute whistleblower complaints among investigators, hire whistleblower investigators to fill the current vacancies, and consider extending its current pilot program on expediting whistleblower screenings to all regions.
Final beryllium standard for construction and shipyards published
The final rule amends the following paragraphs in the beryllium standards for construction and shipyards: Definitions, Methods of Compliance, Respiratory Protection, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment, Housekeeping, Hazard Communication, Medical Surveillance, and Recordkeeping. The Hygiene Areas and Practices paragraph from the final standards was removed because existing standards for sanitation provide the necessary protection. The effective date of the revisions is September 30.
Reminder: resources available on disaster response
Cal-OSHA reminds employers to protect workers from wildfire smoke
Employers near wildfires need to comply with the emergency wildfire smoke regulation, which took effect in July 2019 and has been extended to early 2021.
Recent fines and awards
California
- Investigated because of an accident, Monterey Mushrooms, Inc. of Royal Oaks initially faces $69,635 in penalties.
- Food manufacturer Overhill Farms Inc. and its temporary employment agency Jobsource North America Inc. were fined more than $400,000 in combined penalties for failing to take steps to protect workers from coronavirus infection at two frozen food plants in Vernon.
Eleven other employers have also been cited for not protecting employees from COVID-19 exposure during inspections of industries where workers have an elevated risk of exposure. Proposed penalties range from $2,025 to $51,190.
Florida
- U.S. Corrections LLC, headquartered in Melbourne, was ordered to reinstate an employee for reporting personal and commercial motor vehicle safety concerns plus pay more than $70,000 in back wages, $30,000 in punitive damages, $7,341 in compensatory damages, $30,000 in emotional distress damages and reasonable attorney's fees under the whistleblower provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act.
- T S & C Construction Services Of Florida, LLC, based in Orlando, faces $75,567 in fines for failure to protect employees from cave-ins in excavations.
- Roofing Pioneers of Parrish faces $47,229 in penalties for a repeat violation of failure to provide fall protection.
Georgia
- Harris Tire Company of Atlanta faces $51,274 in penalties following an inspection initiated by a complaint.
Illinois
- DS Containers, Inc. of West Chicago faces $42,411 in penalties relating to hazardous energy control.
- Chicago Aerosol, LLC of Coal City faces $67,470 in penalties for process safety management.
- Environmental Remediation And Recovery, Inc. of Mounds faces $156,065 in penalties for 13 serious violations and two willful violations, including permit-required confined spaces violation.
Massachusetts
- Bob's Tire Company of New Bedford was cited for one repeat and two serious health violations with proposed penalties of $58,178. The company was the subject of two inspections in response to complaints.
- Dollar General in Dracut was cited for five willful and one serious violation and initial penalties are $628,411 for willful violations related to exits, fire extinguishers, and handling of materials.
Missouri
- Schrimpf Landscaping, a subcontractor on a construction site in Jefferson City, was cited for two serious violations after a retaining wall collapsed killing a worker. The company faces $18,892 in fines for failing to protect employees from struck-by and crushed-by hazards and to properly train employees.
- Dyno Noble Inc of Carthage faces penalties of $32,890 related to fall protection.
North Carolina
- KMS Roofing/Sheet Metal, L.L.C. of Greensboro faces $105,000 in penalties for two willful and one serious violation related to fall protection, training, and ladders.
Tennessee
- Hankook Tire Manufacturing Tennessee, LP of Clarksville faces $75,750 following an inspection initiated by a complaint.
Wisconsin
- Lincoln Industries Of Wisconsin, LLC of New Berlin faces $40,482 in penalties related to lockout/tagout and hazard communications.