Last year, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updated the rules for reporting severe injuries and illnesses. The federal rules require employers to report all in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours of learning about it. By law, the states that operate under OSHA-approved State Plans are Read more
National Safety Month is observed each year in June. The focus of the campaign is to reduce leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities. In the workplace, employers and employees must adhere to state and federal health and safety training standards and follow best practices Read more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently revised their recordkeeping rule by updating the list of industries that are exempt from routinely keeping injury and illness records, and adding additional injuries to report. Employers under the Federal OSHA’s jurisdiction are now required to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours, all work-related inpatient Read more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers that handle hazardous chemicals in their workplaces to implement the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) program. The purpose of the program is to ensure hazardous chemicals are classified and safety information is communicated. Just recently, the HCS was modified to adopt the Globally Harmonized System of Classification Read more
Each year, employers subject to federal OSHA recordkeeping rules, or comparable provisions of OSHA-approved state job safety and health programs, are required to post in the workplace a summary of work-related injuries and illnesses for the previous year. OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, must be posted by Feb. 1, and remain Read more
On September 11, 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced changes to the list of industries that are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records, and to the list of severe work-related injuries and illnesses that all covered employers must report to OSHA. The final rule goes into Read more
In anticipation of holiday shopping season, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a Fact Sheet for retailers offering suggestions for managing crowds at holiday sales events. The guidance divides the task into four sections: (1) planning, (2) pre-event set up, (3) during the sales event, and (4) handling emergency situations. Some Read more
A new local emphasis program in the state of Nebraska about hazardous chemicals will be launched by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The program was designed to educate workers on hazardous chemicals and enforcing strategies that can prevent workers from being exposed to these chemicals. The chemicals targeted are formaldehyde and methylene chloride, Read more
Assessing the Work Environment Although the recent spread of the Ebola virus is capturing national headlines, most workers in the U.S. are unlikely to encounter virus. That said, the law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. Workers who interact with people, animals, goods, and equipment arriving Read more
In the next six months, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be encouraging stakeholders such as businesses to provide information that could help reduce hazardous chemical exposures in the workplace. OSHA’s current permissible exposure limits (PELs) for chemicals has not been updated since their adoption in 1971 due to the long process to Read more
