President-elect Trump has promised to eliminate EPA, which was created during the administration of Republican Richard Nixon.
The Zika virus was a concern throughout 2016, and November voting showed a clear trend toward broad legalization of marijuana in the United States.
The New Jersey contractor has been cited twice in 11 months for fall hazards.
After a compliance officer saw Real Contractors’ employees exposed to fall hazards, OSHA cited the company for repeat violations related to failure to provide safe scaffolding, and failure to provide fall protection and training.
A serious violation was also given to the Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania-based company for additional scaffold hazards.
"By not complying with OSHA safety standards, Real Contractors continues to put its workers at serious risk of being injured or killed on the job. The hazards found in our inspection are all completely preventable, and must be immediately corrected by the company," said Theresa Downs, director of OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office.
Along with the good news, some of the year's safety and health highlights were bad or even ugly, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' confirmation in December that workplace fatalities increased in the most recent fiscal year to the highest number since 2008.
RP Construction has been cited for failing to provide fall protection.
A temporary worker was fatally crushed by a robotic machine just two weeks before her wedding in JUne 2016, and OSHA has cited the host employer and two staffing agencies, proposing a total of $2.5 million in penalties.
Four manufacturers were issued a warning for labeling the cigarettes as cigars.
The company returned a hydraulic press to operation without adding safety guarding after a 65-year-old employee's right middle finger tip was amputated as he lowered a press used to square parts for washing machines and dryers, according to OSHA.
The company has pledged to fix forklift hazards.
The company manufactures feed and sells used agricultural machinery.
The immediate speculation is that Andrew Puzder, if confirmed, will abandon the Department of Labor's rule that would raise the salary threshold for eligibility for overtime. A federal judge enjoined DOL from enforcing it as planned Dec. 1, 2016, and the Obama administration then appealed that injunction.
NN Metal Stampings has been cited for nine serious and two other-than-serious safety violations.
Joiner Sheet Metal & Roofing has been cited for 1 willful and 2 serious violations.
The August 2014 collision of two Union Pacific Railroad freight trains in Hoxie, Ark., prompted the safety board to issue urgent safety recommendations to help ensure that electronic alertness devices ("alerters") work as intended on trains.
The willful violations relate to the employer's failure to have an implemented, written bloodborne pathogens exposure control plan, including performing an exposure determination and offering exposed employees the Hepatitis B vaccine.
Olivier Rochette was struck by a lift and died from his injuries.
Donald Trump has bigger priorities than OSHA when he takes office in January 2017, but he has promised to reverse some of its 2016 actions.
The Automated Commercial Environment system "serves to protect public health by allowing FDA to focus its limited resources on those FDA-regulated products being offered for import that may be associated with a greater public health risk," wrote Howard Sklamberg, J.D., deputy commissioner for Global Regulatory Operations and Policy.
Two 2016 OSHA enforcement cases are object lessons in the importance of using the latest gas monitoring technology to protect workers.