OSHA watch
Little guidance for employers on COVID
In late September, the CDC's surprise move of removing universal masking requirements in healthcare settings created uncertainty for employers as the federal permanent COVID-19 standard for healthcare workers is not expected until the end of the year. The CDC's guidance is to require masking only if COVID-19 case counts are high or if workers are caring for sick patients with COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses.
California has kept many COVID-19 protocols in place under the Cal/OSHA program, but requirements have been loosening in most parts of the country and employers are developing precautions and protocols consistent with guidance from the CDC and industry standards. Some OSHA experts caution that employers should remain vigilant as most inspections during the pandemic have been the result of employee or union complaints.
Safety strategies for the holiday season
Fundamental safety concerns should be heightened during the holiday season. Seasonal employees with less experience and limited training, increased clutter, and time pressures create a higher probability of work-related injuries. Several standards are relevant to retail, delivery, and fulfillment establishments. Common citations and injuries relate to blocked exit routes, slip and trip hazards, unsafe storage, unstable loads, blocked pathways, fire extinguisher access, poor lighting, locked exits, faulty PPE, inadequate training, fire hazards, unsafe use of forklifts, ladder misuse, and lockout/tagout violations. For more information
Real stories help make a connection with Gen Z
As Generation Z (born 1997 - 2012) enters the workforce, employers have adapted their training efforts to their interests - digital content, mobile devices, videos, interactive gaming, and so on. However, some elements of training are effective across all generations. Storytelling is one of the most effective.
The Real Stories webpage features actual cases in which young workers were injured or killed at work.
State OSHA
MIOSHA
Workplace safety and health videos available on-demand
In partnership with Safety Source Productions, MIOSHA offers free on-demand video streaming available 24/7. Choose from hundreds of topics to help your workplace improve its safety and health.
New instructions for the exception to lockout/tagout
New division instructions were released for the General Industry Safety and Health Division (GISHD) enforcement personnel establishing division policies and procedures for the exception to lockout/tagout for minor tool changes and adjustments and other minor servicing activities.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is hosting a training series for everyone who uses its electronic claim system, Work Comp Campus. For more information
Oregon
Scaled-back COVID-19 protections for employer-provided labor housing remove provisions deemed "no longer appropriate to this stage of the pandemic." These include physical distancing monitoring, modified pandemic-related cleaning and sanitation practices, and rules on non-employer-provided transportation for labor housing.
Recent fines and awards
Florida
- An investigation into how a 22-year-old diver working in a canal drowned found the diver's employer, Erosion Barrier Installations Corp. of Davie, did not follow required safety standards related to training and PPE. Proposed penalties are $46,409 to address the two willful and 10 serious violations.
Georgia
- A Savannah crawl space remediation company, East Coast Crawl LLC, operating as Crawlspace Medic of Savannah faces $31,284 in fines after an employee suffered a fatal electrocution while digging a shallow drainage trench under a home. The company was fined for not making sure to deenergize electrical lines before allowing employees to work and dig within the danger zone, failing to train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions, not providing personal protective equipment for working in a confined space, and failing to identify all permit-required confined spaces.
- Dollar General Corp. and Dolgencorp LLC, operator of more than 18,000 Dollar General discount stores in 47 states, faces $1,680,216 in proposed penalties after inspections at four locations in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Inspectors cited the retailer for four willful and 10 repeat violations for failing to keep receiving and storage areas clean and orderly, stacking materials in an unsafe manner, exposing workers to fire and entrapment hazards by failing to keep exit routes and electrical panels clear and unobstructed, failing to mount and label fire extinguishers, and having a locked exit door that required a key to open.
Illinois
- KW Framing Inc., a contractor based in Justice, faces $77,000 in proposed penalties for five safety violations after the site supervisor ignored an inspector's safety hazard notification and directed workers onto the roof without fall protection. When the general contractor became aware of the condition, the workers were removed from the roof.
Massachusetts
- A Holyoke cannabis cultivation facility faces $35,219 in penalties after a worker died from exposure to cannabis dust. Trulieve Holyoke Holdings LLC is contesting the citations that allege it failed to provide employees with training and information on the hazards of working with ground cannabis.
Missouri
- A Dexter construction contractor, Brown Construction Co, faces four serious violations of federal trenching and excavation standards, and proposed penalties of $58,008. A pipelayer was killed when a trench collapsed as he was installing stormwater drainage in an 8-foot-deep trench.
New Jersey
- A real estate developer and two contractors are facing a total of $518,037 in fines after allegedly willfully exposing workers to dangerously energized power lines at a worksite in Paterson. Alerted by the local power utility, inspectors found employees at risk of electrocution as they worked from a metal scaffold erected within five feet of high-voltage power lines. Work was stopped and an Imminent Danger Notice in English and Spanish was posted to warn workers at the site about the extreme danger. A consent injunction was negotiated but the terms were violated. Litana Development Inc. of Wayne faces $435,081 in penalties and two subcontractors, Prata Construction LLC of Denville - a carpentry contractor - and Elite Brothers Construction LLC of Paterson - a stucco contractor - each face $41,478 in penalties.
Pennsylvania
- An investigation found that Regal Industrial Corp., a metal coatings company, enacted a comprehensive safety and health program to protect workers at its corporate headquarters but failed to do the same for employees at a manufacturing facility it opened in the fall of 2021 in Millville, NJ. The company faces $573,00 in penalties for 21 violations related to respirator use, hazard communications, fall protection, machine guarding, forklift training, and more.
- A federal court of appeals has found Birdsboro Kosher Farms Corp. in contempt for failing to pay $162,359 in penalties after the company ignored a previous court order and failed to pay the penalties or provide abatement certification.
West Virginia
- Inspected in response to a complaint from roofing workers atop a two-story office building without fall protection, Charm Builders Ltd., a Millersburg, Ohio contractor with a long history of disregarding workplace safety standards now faces more than $1 million in penalties. Cited for the 12th time, the contractor received 12 citations - six egregious-willful, five repeat, and one serious for failing to ensure the use of fall protection, not training employees on fall hazards, allowing unsafe use of portable ladders, and not making sure workers used safety glasses. The company was placed in the Severe Violators Program.