The study calls the new standard "radically different" from the previous standard and says because its rules for product markings have changed, users will need to be educated on matching the hazard from which they need protection with the new marking on the product.
“It’s an unfortunate fact that monetary penalties just aren’t enough,” said OSHA chief David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH. “We believe that nothing focuses the mind like the threat of doing time in prison, which is why we need criminal penalties for employers who are determined to gamble with their workers’ lives and consider it merely a cost of doing business when a worker dies on the job.”
"It is unacceptable for employers to retaliate against employees who raise safety and health concerns," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "Employers will be held accountable if they violate workers' legal right to have a voice in the workplace on health and safety."
In all, the employer faces allegations of three willful and 16 serious violations carrying nearly $201,000 in penalties, plus an other-than-serious charge with no proposed penalty related to voluntary respirator use.
A whistleblower brought the lawsuit, alleging the manufacturer had violated the Anti-kickback Act and the False Claims Act by paying various forms of illegal remuneration to physicians who prescribed the use of the company’s devices for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Violations found at both stores include the company's failure to maintain exit routes, as well as walking and working surfaces that were free and unobstructed, to implement a hazard communication program, and to protect employees from electrical hazards.
According to a just released question-and-answer document, if the oil slick remains small in comparison to a typical hurricane's general environment and size (200 to 300 miles), the anticipated impact on the hurricane would be minimal.
The broadcast will devote special attention to a Department of Homeland Security-sponsored course called "Food Vulnerability Assessment Training" intended to prevent and deter terrorist acts.
The agency's inspections found inadequately trained employees performing work without the proper personal protective equipment while being exposed to live parts.
A job hazard analysis is a technique that focuses on job tasks as a way to identify hazards before they occur. Supervisors can use the findings of a job hazard analysis to eliminate and prevent hazards in their workplaces. This is likely to result in fewer worker injuries and illnesses; safer, more effective work methods; reduced workers' compensation costs; and increased worker productivity
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they agree with FDA's food labeling policy, which requires food products to be labeled when use of biotechnology substantially changes the food's nutritional content (such as vitamins or fat) or its composition, or when a potential food safety issue is identified.
Genetics, diet, lifestyle, and a lack of health care are cited as factors contributing to the higher rate.
The series of half-day seminars will discuss ergonomics, pandemic influenza, indoor air quality, fire protection, and other potential workplace hazards.
An inspection of the company's petroleum additives manufacturing plant in Linden, N.J., led to citations for violations related to a deficient process safety management system.
Throughout my 27 years spent working in manufacturing, I've worked with electricity in some way or another. I've been a maintenance mechanic, maintenance supervisor, equipment technician, appliance repairman, TV/VCR technician, and more. Although I've been extremely fortunate never to have encountered a fatality that was caused by electricity, almost everyone I've worked with has been zapped, tingled, or shocked at some point in their lives, either on or off the job.
"The company's intentional disregard for its safety and health responsibilities put its workers at risk, and more egregiously, led to an unnecessary loss of life,” said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
"The employer knowingly operated high-pressure vessels even after being warned of the potential for a catastrophic failure due to material design and fabrication defects," said OSHA's Dr. David Michaels. "This simply is unacceptable, and OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure the company is held accountable for its actions."
“OSHA needs to bring more attention to the worst actors among employers, but not at the expense of encouraging employers to be as good as they can be in managing occupational safety and health,” said ASSE President C. Christopher Patton, in a letter to Congress on Friday expressing concern over the proposed cutting of OSHA’s VPP and MSHA’s Small Mines Office.
Almost two-thirds of the more than 7,000 respondents did not know that all forms of UV exposure, whether from natural sunlight or artificial light sources found in tanning beds, are unsafe.
The inspection was initiated under the agency's Construction Hazards Emphasis Program when an OSHA inspector observed employees working at heights of more than 14 feet without the use of fall protection.