"This order reaffirms both the right of employees to raise concerns regarding violations of Securities and Exchange Commission rules and the Labor Department's commitment to take the necessary steps to protect that right," said Ken Atha, OSHA's regional administrator in San Francisco.
Furthering the safety and health of oil and gas industry workers in east Texas, southern Arkansas, and northwest Louisiana is the goal of an alliance signed between OSHA and the Ark La Tex STEPS (Safe Transportation, Exploration and Production Systems) network.
The employee had repeatedly informed the company of suspected violations of federal aviation regulations, including ordering an unqualified pilot to perform a test flight while carrying passengers.
The new Labor secretary said Wednesday that 150 more inspectors are being added to Wage and Hour's field offices.
The agreement with one company focuses on leak detection and repair, the other with control of toluene, a hazardous volatile organic air pollutant that was used as a component of a wash-up solvent.
"This information underscores the need for fundamental transparency and provides a powerful tool for protecting public health and the environment," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Serving the public’s right to know is the crucial first step in reducing toxic chemicals in the places where we live, work, and raise children."
OSHA began its inspection following a release of steam and heated petroleum coke that occurred the day before while workers were removing refractory brick used for lining furnaces in kiln chambers.
"I'm calling upon the region's employers to review their excavation safety procedures to ensure that no employee enters an excavation unless and until it is properly guarded against collapse," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
Among the site's areas of excellence are proactive efforts to identify and correct hazards to carriers encompassing community involvement, analysis of route hazards, and implementation of a motor vehicle logbook system for vehicle safety.
A Dec. 23, 2008, incident in which two employees were injured when they were struck by a 700-pound forging that shot up in the air while they were attempting to free it from a malfunctioning die on a power press led to the second of two agency inspections.
MSHA recently announced that 15 mine operators from around the country have received letters putting them on notice that each has a potential pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards under Section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act).
MSHA recently announced it has issued penalties totaling $342,800 to Hiawatha Coal Co. for a powered haulage accident last year at the Bear Canyon Mine in Huntington, Utah. A miner was seriously injured in that accident.
The W. Va.-based company was cited for failing to ensure that operating procedures addressed special or unique hazards of the process, failing to conduct adequate inspections on process equipment, and failing to ensure that proper respiratory protection and personal protective equipment were utilized during an emergency response, among other things.
Department of Homeland Security reports that one million port and longshore workers, truckers, and others at ports across the nation have enrolled in its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a known security threat.
Tricia Smith, currently commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor, is President Obama's choice to defend OSHA and other cases before federal courts. The solicitor's office is DOL's law firm and a key voice in setting the agency's policies.
The former OSHA chief and Fisher & Phillips LLP colleague Howard A. Mavity presented a webinar today in which they advised employers to review their corporate policies for disciplining workers who violate safety standards. Foulke said employers shouldn't ignore routine areas such as recordkeeping, lockout/tagout, and PPE, job safety analyses.
The suit asserted that Joyner complained about the harassment to her assistant managers, who failed to take appropriate action to stop the unlawful conduct.
"Disability does not mean inability," said EEOC San Francisco District Director Michael Baldonado. "The ADA encourages us all to focus on opening doors to all a worker can do and discourages the closing of doors through restrictive stereotypes about disabilities, such as what you may think that person cannot do."
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said this step facilitates the convening of a small business advocacy review panel to determine the impact a proposed rule might have on small businesses and how those impacts can be reduced.
On March 13, the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration announced the proposed suspension for nine months of a final rule implementing changes to the H-2A program, which allows U.S. agricultural businesses to employ foreign workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs.