OSHA watch
Heat rule published in Federal Register
The proposed rule to protect workers from both outdoor and indoor heat hazards was published in the Federal Register August 30. There is a 32-minute video explaining the rationale, the history, and a general overview of the proposal. Comments must be submitted by December 30.
With 376 pages of regulations, there is a lot to digest. Employers must create a site-specific plan to identify, evaluate, and control heat hazards, take certain actions at or above two different heat triggers, have an emergency response plan, provide training, and maintain records. We will do a deeper dive into the standard in next month's Advisory.
$1M penalty issued for silica dust violations
Chicago-based Florenza Marble & Granite Corp. faces over $1 million in penalties for exposing its workers to hazardous silica dust levels up to six times greater than permissible limits. Three company employees are now suffering from severe lung diseases, including two awaiting lung transplants. Further investigation found the company and owner did not develop a safety program to protect or monitor the health of its six employees, even though two workers compensation insurance carriers refused to insure the company in 2022 and 2024 for not providing air sampling or proving it protected its workers.
OSHA has been conducting additional outreach and enforcement within the engineered stone industry and other establishments with respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposures. In September 2023, it launched a new initiative to conduct enhanced enforcement and compliance assistance efforts in the engineered stone fabrication and installation industries to supplement its National Emphasis Program (RCS NEP). A new hazard analysis shares inspection results. Between September 22, 2023 and July 8, 2024, 246 inspections were conducted and 1,059 citations were issued.
Parker talks about priorities
Speaking at the American Society of Safety Professional's annual conference, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker enumerated these priorities:
- more formalized and ongoing rulemaking, such as addressing heat risks and infectious disease
- expanding enforcement efforts on repeat violations, targeting not just high-hazard industries (such as Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores)
- seeking criminal prosecutions for repeat offenders of deadly hazards such as falls and trenching
- reducing investigation timeframes for whistleblower protections
Region 6 Emphasis Program on transportation tank cleaning operations renewed
The Regional Emphasis Program focused on transportation tank cleaning operations has been renewed and updated for Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and worksites in New Mexico under federal authority. The REP went into effect August 1 and will remain until July 31, 2028, but may be renewed.
Reminder - emergency responder proposal online hearing
An informal online hearing will be held on November 12 to listen to public comments and testimony on the controversial proposal to expand safety and health protections for emergency responders.
Dollar General agrees to pay $12 million in penalties
Discount store operator Dollar General has agreed to pay a $12 million penalty for recurring safety violations that include blocked exits and fire extinguishers, unsafe storage, and inaccessible electrical panels. The terms of the deal require Dollar General, which operates the nation's largest chain of dollar stores, to significantly reduce inventory and improve stocking to prevent such hazards. The company also must hire more safety managers and establish a health and safety committee with employee participation.The agreement covers all of the Goodlettsville-based company's more than 19,000 stores except its pOpshelf locations.
If inspectors find similar problems in the future, Dollar General may be fined $100,000 a day for any that are not resolved within 48 hours, up to $500,000 the agreement states. The company must also submit quarterly reports.
MSHA conducts more than one annual POV screening for the first time
According to a recent release, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) review included more than one Pattern of Violations (POV) screening within a single year for the first time. Mines that receive a POV notice must withdraw miners from the affected area until MSHA determines that the violation has been abated.
MSHA safety alert warns miners about dangers of unsupported roofs
A new alert urges mine managers to educate all miners and supervisors about the hazards of working and traveling in areas with an unsupported roof. Management also should identify and correct unsafe work practices.
State Plans
Cal/OSHA
Revised discussion draft of a proposed workplace violence prevention standard for general industry released
Comments on the revised discussion draft of a proposed workplace violence prevention standard for general industry (non-healthcare settings) were due September 3, and an advisory committee hearing will be scheduled later this year. The draft proposal includes definitions of engineering controls and work practice controls, and it would require employers to communicate with "authorized employee representatives" and employees regarding workplace violence matters.
Stepped up enforcement and criminal prosecution planned for egregious offenders
A news release announced that recruitment and hiring of more investigator staff for the Bureau of Investigations will focus on the most egregious violations, referring offenders for criminal prosecution.
MIOSHA
Employers reminded that new rules are in effect for operators of X-ray machines in medical settings
New workplace safety and health rules have taken effect that set clear guidelines for people who operate X-ray machines in medical settings, ensuring they are properly trained and qualified. All operators must provide documentation demonstrating they have completed the required training and must obtain continuing education. Active status operators will need to meet their respective registry requirements.
Agency instructions issued
July 10, 2024 - Tree Trimming Operations
July 25, 2024 - Alliance Policies and Procedures
July 25, 2024 - Complaint Processing
July 25, 2024 - Trenching and Excavation - National Emphasis Program (NEP)
July 31, 2024 - Construction Inspection Targeting
MNOSHA
Fatality, serious-injury investigation summaries online
Each month, Compliance publishes current, updated summaries of its fatality investigations and serious injury investigations. For the federal-fiscal-year that began Oct. 1, 2023, MNOSHA has investigated 17 fatalities and 21 serious-injury investigations through August 28.
Recent fines and awards
California
- Nine employers in Sun Valley received citations related to hazardous silica dust totaling more than $168,000 in fines, with most of the employers fined $18,785. For a list of employers
Florida
- Circle K Stores Inc., a subsidiary of one of the world's best-known operators of convenience stores and fueling stations, faces one serious violation for failing to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm after a cashier was shot by two gunmen at an Orlando store. The citation was issued and a penalty of $16,131 assessed under the General Duty Clause since there is no standard for workplace violence.
Georgia
- A settlement agreement was reached with Georgia-based Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC following the highly publicized death of a young worker in July 2023 at a Mississippi poultry processing plant. The settlement agreement requires the company to pay $164,814 in penalties and implement enhanced safety measures to protect workers from machine hazards.
Illinois
- Chicago-based Florenza Marble & Granite Corp. faces over $1 million in penalties for eight egregious, four willful, and 20 serious safety and health violations for exposing its workers to hazardous silica dust levels. Two workers need a lung transplant and another suffers from a severe lung disease. Compliance officers found silica dust levels nearly six times higher than permissible levels and the owner made little or no effort to protect his employees from exposure.
- A metro Chicago carpentry contractor, Dromin Development LLC, was cited for the seventh time since 2013 for not providing required safety equipment and training to employees building a new home in Frankfort. The contractor was cited for two repeat violations, one willful, one serious, and one other-than-serious violation related to fall protection, training, and forklifts and faces $268,309 in penalties.
Minnesota
- Wayne Transports, Inc. faces $621,600 in penalties for 120 serious violations primarily related to confined space hazards at its facility in Virginia, following a worker fatality in a tanker.
New York
- Global shoe manufacturer Adidas America Inc. faces additional penalties of $396,377 after it failed to correct earlier identified fall hazards at its manufacturing facility in Chester. It originally paid $17,403 in penalties for absence of guardrails and an unsafe ladder.
- After a whistleblower investigation, the Office of the Solicitor filed suit against Dr. David Kwiat and Kwiat Eye and Laser Surgery PLLC of Amsterdam alleging they illegally fired an employee concerned about the practice's failure to implement state-mandated protocols to protect employees from COVID-19, and later filed complaints with state health officials. The court agreed the defendants had retaliated against the employee based on protected activity and assessed a contempt fine of $1,250 for discovery violations and will hold a hearing to determine compensation and damages.
Tennessee
- The Wage and Hour Division has found that Professional Personnel Service Inc., operating as Luttrell Staffing in Kingsport, employed children to work at Tuff Torq, a Morristown manufacturing facility that produces outdoor power equipment, in violation of child labor laws. Luttrell Staffing was ordered to comply with federal child labor laws and to pay $121,572 in civil penalties.