Regulatory & Standards


a worker wears a medical mask for protection against disease

CA Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard Adopted

The standard will require hospitals, health and correctional facilities, EMS, homeless shelters, labs, and others to develop control measures to lower employees' risk of infection.

OSHA Strengthens Outreach Training Program

OSHA, in an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, is strengthening its 36-year-old Outreach Training Program by improving how trainers become authorized to teach and ensuring these trainers are in compliance with OSHA program guidelines.

MSHA, Tri-Star Mining Inc. Reach Settlement Agreement

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently announced that an administrative law judge of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has approved a settlement between MSHA and Tri-Star Mining Inc. regarding an April 2007 highwall failure that resulted in the death of two coal miners at Tri-Star Mining's western Maryland surface operation. The mine operator will pay a total of $105,324 in penalties.

OSHA Fines Two Contractors $175,000 Following Construction Collapse, Injuries

OSHA is proposing $175,000 in penalties against W.G. Yates & Sons Construction and Spectrum Concrete Services following the November 2008 collapse of a wood shoring system at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center's medical towers addition in Meridian, Miss.



ASSE Revises SH&E Training Practices Standard

The standard, Z490.1-2009, covers all areas of training, including training development, delivery, evaluation, and management of training and training programs, ASSE says.

OSHA Renews New Jersey Schools Development Authority Alliance

OSHA, the New Jersey School Development Authority (NJSDA), and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOLWD) have renewed their alliance to promote workplace safety and health on New Jersey school construction sites during a signing ceremony at NJSDA headquarters in Trenton.

OSHA Cites Utility Company for Potential Trenching Hazards

The alleged failure to protect its employees from potential trenching and excavation hazards has brought H & H Plumbing & Utilities Inc. $46,200 in proposed penalties from OSHA following an inspection at the company's worksite in Edmond.

Alaska Miners to Pay $883,628 to Resolve Environmental Violations

"Whether it's in a far corner of Alaska or in a crowded urban area, stormwater rules protect our waterways from polluted runoff," said Michelle Pirzadeh, EPA's Acting Regional Administrator in Seattle.

OSHA Cites Contractor after Workers Overcome at Worksite

OSHA has cited a Cambridge, Mass., contractor for alleged willful and serious violations of safety and health standards after three of its employees were overcome by lack of oxygen on Oct. 20, 2008, while cleaning underground steam pipes on the Boston College campus in Newton, Mass. Thomas G. Gallagher Inc. faces a total of $71,000 in proposed fines.

Revised First Aid Kit Standard Wins ANSI Approval

ANSI/ISEA Z308.1-2009 designates new kit types and expands the required supply list to include a first aid guide.

OSHA Awards VPP Star to American Packaging Corp.

OSHA has certified the RP&L Division of American Packaging Corp. in Columbus as a star site in its prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).

EEOC Sues Wal-Mart for Harassment of Latinos at Fresno Sam's Club

Sam's Club, the wholesale chain store owned and operated by Wal-Mart, violated federal law by compelling Latino employees to endure a hostile work environment based upon their Mexican national origin, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed on May 7.

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis

Lean Rulemaking Agenda Lists July Diacetyl Milestone

The biggest news in U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' first semiannual regulatory agenda is no news: Nothing big was promised, just a little forward progress on long-awaited rules.

two workers direct a concrete pour

ASTM Developing Better Test for Concrete Conductivity

It could replace destructive testing that now takes much longer. Bulk conductivity is useful for designing cathodic protection systems and for concrete used in stray voltage applications.

DOL Earns Number One Ranking in Performance Report Scorecard

George Mason University's Mercatus Center ranks agencies' reports on 12 criteria worth five points each, in three categories: transparency, public benefits, and leadership.

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