On January 1, 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revised their recordkeeping rules. Employers under Federal OSHA’s jurisdiction have to report all work-related fatalities within eight hours. Employers also have to report all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations, and all losses of an eye within 24 hours. Before these changes, employers were only Read more
Committed to making workplaces safe, North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) and UL PureSafety have joined forces to provide employers and employees with free online safety training. UL PureSafety is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-authorized online outreach provider that will make it possible for North Dakota individuals to receive valuable information that Read more
The Commonwealth of Kentucky Labor Cabinet just announced that it will be holding free informational and training courses in the month of July. Courses will be held at the Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park in Gilbertsville from July 13 to July 16. The goal is to encourage a safe workplace by offering free safety Read more
Virginia employers may soon face stricter injury reporting rules. A proposed workplace safety bill aligning Virginia reporting requirements in cases of severe work-related injuries and fatalities with federal occupational safety and health reporting requirements is moving forward in the state legislature. By comparison, the state measure will hold employers to more strident reporting standards than 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
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
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
Effective January 1, 2015, employers of workplaces covered under federal OSHA jurisdiction will be required to notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye. The final rule also updates the list of employers partially exempt from OSHA record-keeping requirements. The recent rule Read more
