Enforcement

Several recent administrative law judge (ALJ) rulings scrapping OSHA citations against the Postal Service (USPS) for exposing mail carriers to excessive heat could end the agency’s longstanding reliance on a National Weather Service (NWS) guide for determining the severity of heat exposures.

OSHA is touting a new decision from an administrative law judge (ALJ) that held a New York flooring maker liable for falsely claiming to have corrected a series of prior workplace violations, calling it a marker for the importance of addressing identified safety hazards following an enforcement action.

OSHA is asking a federal district court to reject a lawsuit that seeks to mandate enforcement action against a Pennsylvania meat-packing plant over fears about inadequate worker protections against COVID-19, arguing that the workers have not met the OSH Act’s “high bar” to override regulators’ enforcement discretion.

Workers at a Pennsylvania meat-packing plant are suing OSHA for what they say is the agency’s unlawful failure to respond to complaints of “imminent” danger of COVID-19 infection at the facility, arguing that the OSH Act gives the agency no choice but to quickly inspect the facility or to formally reject the complaint as unwarranted.

OSHA is citing a health care company over inadequate worker protections for COVID-19 at odds with requirements in its existing respiratory protection standards, in what appears to be the agency’s first major enforcement action against an employer for not implementing sufficient protections against the virus.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in a new decision is rejecting OSHA’s broad reading of the universe of facilities subject to its safety standards for commercial diving, holding that the agency cannot apply the rule to aquarium divers because they fall under an exemption for “scientific” workers.

A federal appellate court is backing OSHA’s interpretation of its process safety management (PSM) standard against a poultry plant’s argument that the agency is applying an overbroad definition of “process” equipment subject to the rule, and is requiring more testing than “reasonable” engineering practices dictate.

Industry attorneys are largely welcoming a long-awaited IRS plan allowing companies to deduct from their federal taxes fines and penalties paid to the government under consent decrees, such as those resolving health, safety, and environmental enforcement actions.

A newly published study finds public accusations against employers that violate OSHA standards are significantly more effective at boosting compliance than the agency’s facility inspections alone, not only at those workplaces but also at nearby competitors, concluding that “regulation by shaming” should be a top priority for OSHA.

OSHA is launching its next round of Susan Harwood Training Grants despite the Trump administration’s long-running efforts to defund the program, marking a win for defenders of the grants that support training and education for workers and employers on workplace safety and health hazards, responsibilities and rights.