Category: OSHA

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Liability Laws Still Require Contractors to Follow Safety Guidelines

About a year ago, I wrote a column for the Daily Journal of Commerce about effective COVID-19 safety policies and what contractors can do to maximize job site safety to comply with developing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 safety standards and guidelines. In the interim, … Continue Reading

OR-OSHA Publishes Model Infection Control Policy Required by New COVID- 19 Rules

On November 6, 2020, the Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OR-OSHA”) published final temporary rules for workplace safety protections specific to COVID-19. Our alert about the new rules is available here. Among other requirements, the new rules require employers to adopt a COVID-19 Infection Notification policy for notifying exposed and affected employees of possible … Continue Reading

Latest OSHA COVID-19 Safety Tips for the Construction Industry & Guidance on Drafting a COVID-19 Policy and Administering the Job Site to Minimize the Hazard

OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires an employer to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.  In the current pandemic,  COVID-19 qualifies and contractors should draft a COVID-19 policy for their worksites implementing the latest guidance in order to minimize the hazard and protect employees. In … Continue Reading

New Fall Protection Regulations Being Studied

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, is considering changes to Washington’s fall protection regulations. These are rules intended to protect construction workers from injury caused by falls on a jobsite.  The Division has been interested in this topic since 2013, when the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration … Continue Reading

Best Practices for Staying Off of OSHA’s “Naughty List”

Construction projects, both big and small, pose a host of safety risks and challenges and, as a result, are subject to a number of regulations designed to limit the probability and severity of jobsite accidents. In my latest article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I discuss common violations, some recent regulatory changes, best practices … Continue Reading

OSHA’s New Dust Exposure Rule and Its Potential Impact on Construction Industry

On March 24, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued its final rule related to admissible exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The new rule, which dramatically reduces the permissible exposure limit (“PEL”) of respirable crystalline silica from 250 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (an … Continue Reading

OSHA Creep

OSHA compliance recently became harder and costlier, and may continue to do so, thanks to several developments at the federal and state level. (Click here for a prior post on OSHA reform.) You may go to prison if you discipline or terminate an employee who might be worried about an unsafe working condition—even though your … Continue Reading

Not so Ahead of Schedule: OSHA Reform

Contributor:  Louis A. Ferreira Congress has proposed legislation that would amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to increase both civil and criminal penalties, expand coverage, and create new obligations for employers. Congress has not acted recently on the bill, named the “Protecting America’s Workers Act," but employers should expect action sometime in the new year. … Continue Reading

Oregon OSHA Clarifies That Employers Are Liable On Per-Employee Basis

Are Oregon contractors liable on a per-employee basis for failing to comply with OSHA personal protective equipment (PPE) and training requirements? Under a new administrative order issued by Oregon OSHA, the answer is yes. Under this order, Oregon OSHA adopted a federal OSHA rule clarifying that employers are liable for violations on a per-employee basis. … Continue Reading
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