Business and Industry Division

RSS

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board has added preventive maintenance and emergency response and planning to its “Most Wanted” list of safety improvements.

Washington – OSHA is pushing back the deadline for employers to comply with anti-retaliation provisions in its recently released recordkeeping rule.

Washington – A wide-ranging spending bill that proposes to cut funding for Department of Labor agencies – including OSHA – is difficult but necessary, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said July 13 during a full committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2017 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill.

Washington – The National Association of Manufacturers and Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. are among the groups taking legal action in an effort to block OSHA’s recently released recordkeeping rule.

Washington – The Office of Compliance’s Office of General Counsel expects to conduct more safety inspections of legislative-branch workplaces during the 114th Congress than it did during the previous Congress, according to OOC’s annual report for fiscal year 2015.

Washington – OSHA’s budget would decrease by $18.4 million in fiscal 2017 as part of a draft bill released by the House Appropriations Committee.

Washington – The “deterrent effect” of OSHA fines takes a hit when the agency reduces penalties in cases involving willful violations and worker deaths – and OSHA too often agrees to reduce fines in exchange for an employer’s promise to quickly abate hazards, according to a report released June 30 by the Center for Progressive Reform.

Atlanta – Strategies for preventing worker suicide are needed, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim in a new report detailing the rates of self-inflicted death among U.S. workers.

Miami – Is it time to rethink traditional work meetings? Replacing a seated work meeting with a walking meeting can increase workers’ physical activity and lead to positive health effects, according to researchers from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

Washington – The Department of Labor has announced a pair of interim final rules that allow OSHA to adjust its civil penalties to account for inflation.