Lawsuit over OSHA electronic records rule delayed
A Texas court granted a request from the Trump administration for a 60-day delay in litigation of the electronic record-keeping rule and stayed the case until June 5, 2017. The deadline to submit a proposed summary judgment briefing schedule and for the administration’s response to motions to intervene in the case was extended to July 5.
Deputy assistant secretary of labor creates blog on large enforcement cases
Since the Trump administration took office, there have been very few press releases announcing health/safety violators. For years, the agency has routinely issued press releases about companies receiving citations of $40,000 or more and some workplace safety professionals have criticized the current administration for staying quiet on the issue. Taking matters into his own hands, Jordan Barab, the deputy assistant secretary of labor for OSHA for the past eight years created a blog of the large violations from January 18, 2017 to February 14, 2017.
Guidance documents on Process Safety Management Standard issued
Three guidance documents intended to help chemical facilities comply with the agency’s Process Safety Management Standard have been released.
Volks Rule overturned
As expected, President Trump signed the disapproval resolution of the controversial “Volks” rule, which increased the threshold for citing employer violations from six months to up to five years.
New online tool to help healthcare facilities address bloodborne pathogens and other hazards
NIOSH has established a web-based injury and exposure monitoring system available at no cost to healthcare facilities. There are two electronic modules for tracking “sharps” injuries, as well as blood and body fluid exposures among health care workers.
Legal case addressing scope of federal safety inspections proceeds to US Court of Appeals
This case centers on an investigation of a workplace accident at Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., a poultry processor in Georgia, and OSHA’s attempt to expand it on numerous potential hazards, beyond the site of the accident and the tools involved. The company refused. OSHA obtained an administrative warrant but it was disallowed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in response to a motion from Mar-Jac. It is now headed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
Safe + Sound week
To help employers participate and plan events for Safe + Sound week, June 12-18, OSHA has updated its webpage with sample activities, social media resources, and tools. The page also features an interactive map of events occurring across the country. Employers are encouraged to host events and activities that showcase the core elements of an effective safety and health program – management leadership, worker participation, and finding and fixing workplace hazards.
Enforcement notes
California
Building supply company fined for fatal forklift accident
A 60-year-old forklift operator was transferring building supplies from San Francisco-based Good View Roofing & Building Supply Corp.’s warehouse to a customer vehicle when the forklift he was driving tipped over the edge of a ramp and the worker was fatally crushed. The company was cited for three serious accident-related violations for failure to ensure proper use of a forklift seatbelt, failure to ensure the forklift operator was certified to safely operate the vehicle, and failure to ensure industrial ramps have at least an 8-inch curb along open edges to prevent the wheels of industrial trucks from running off the ramp. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health fined the company $62,320.
Appeals board upholds citations for carbon monoxide poisoning
Workers contracted by Barrett Business Services to package fruits and nuts in L&L Foods’ warehouse in Anaheim had complained to their supervisor that they were experiencing headaches, nausea and other health issues caused by forklifts operating in an enclosed area with poor ventilation. In 2012, citations were issued to both Barrett Business Services and L&L Foods for numerous safety violations, including willful violations for failing to take action on known hazards and the companies filed appeals. L&L Foods settled its case, but an administrative law judge denied Barrett’s appeal and imposed civil penalties of $80,050 and Barrett petitioned for reconsideration with the Appeals Board. The Board agreed the employer did not properly train its employees, disregarded workers’ reports of health hazards, and failed to monitor the worksite.
Georgia
Cleaning service cited for slip hazards that led to worker injury
Cleaning contractor Healthcare Services Group Inc. was cited for eight violations of workplace safety and health standards after a worker fell and broke her hip while cleaning a room at a regional hospital. Violations included not providing dry standing places or mats for workers cleaning and waxing floors, and not providing personal protective equipment to prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals. Proposed fines are $143,410.
Illinois
Employee complaints lead to citations for exposing workers to chemical hazards
An inspection of Orion Industries Ltd. in Chicago, in response to two employee complaints, identified workers in the spray painting operation being exposed to hexavalent chromium at levels approximately 40 times the permissible exposure limit. Inspectors cited the company for lacking sufficient engineering controls, work practices and protective gear to safeguard workers against exposure to hexavalent chromium. Orion was prompt in addressing the worker overexposures and achieved significant reductions in the fines by the time of its closing conference.
Massachusetts
Drain company faces $1.5M in fines following fatal trench collapse
Following the death of two employees in a Boston trench collapse, Atlantic Drain has been issued 18 citations and is facing $1,475,813 in penalties. The company was cited in two previous years and did not provide safety training and basic safeguards for employees. In February, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted Atlantic Drain and company owner, Kevin Otto, on two counts each of manslaughter and other charges in connection with the deaths.
General contractor must pay fines
An administrative law judge with the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has ruled that two Massachusetts contractors – A.C. Castle Construction Co. Inc. and Daryl Provencher, doing business as Provencher Home Improvements – were operating as a single employer at a Wenham worksite when three employees were injured in October 2014. A.C. Castle contended that, as general contractor, it was not responsible for the safety of the workers on the jobsite, asserting that they were employed by Provencher. Based on a number of factors, the judge upheld the citation as a single employer.
New York
Driller’s death leads to $360,000 in fines
Catskill-based North American Quarry and Construction Services L.L.C, has agreed to pay $360,000 in penalties related to the 2012 death of a 30-year-old driller. The employee became entangled in the rotating drill steel and suffered fatal injuries when he tried to manually load a threaded drill steel into the mast of a drilling machine at the pit. The Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration determined that, before the accident, the company intentionally removed an emergency-stop switch from the drill and that the driller was assigned to work alone under hazardous conditions.
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