Occupational Safety and Health NewsAlert

NEW PENALTY POLICIES FOR OSHA WILL RESULT IN INCREASED PENALTIES FOR EMPLOYERS

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 11

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

 

        On April 22, 2010, Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, issued a memorandum to all Regional Administrators regarding “administrative enhancements” to OSHA’s penalty policies.  The administrative enhancements will become effective over the next several months.  Dr. Michaels estimates that the average penalty for a serious violation will increase from approximately $1,000 to an average of $3,000 to $4,000.  These changes are establishing general agency policy and do not preclude the agency from assessing a different penalty where appropriate.  The changes include:

MSHA HOLDS WEB-CHAT ON ITS SEMI-ANNUAL REGULATORY AGENDA

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 10

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

            The Mine Safety and Health Administration conducted a web-chat about MSHA’s Spring 2010 regulatory agenda on Wednesday, April 28, 2010.  Assistant Secretary Joe Main answered questions submitted by participants for approximately one hour.  Most of the questions asked during the web-chat related directly to MSHA’s reaction to the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.  Ken Ward, reporter for the Charleston Gazette, posed nine of the twenty-two questions answered by Main.

MSHA TO HOLD WEB-CHAT ON SPRING 2010 SEMI-ANNUAL REGULATORY AGENDA

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 9

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

            The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released its Spring 2010 regulatory agenda and announced a web-chat to answer questions about the agenda on Wednesday, April 28^th at 10 AM EDT.  MSHA’s regulatory agenda covers a number of items that are in the pre-rule stage and in the proposed rule stage.

OSHA’S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR FISCAL YEARS 2010-2015

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 8

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

 

            The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently unveiled its draft strategic plan for the next six years.  This plan is independent of the “Protecting America’s Workers Act” currently pending in Congress.  OSHA’s goals include (1) reducing the number of fatalities associated with the four leading causes of workplace deaths: falls, electrocutions, caught in or between, and struck by; (2) increasing the number of targeted hazards abated, including hearing loss in manufacturing, illnesses in general industry, and construction and workplace amputations; and (3) increasing worker and employer awareness of OSHA rights, responsibilities, and programs.

MSHA’S PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE APRIL 5, 2010 MINE EXPLOSION

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 7

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

            On April 15, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released a preliminary report regarding the April 5, 2010, explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine (UBB) in Montcoal, West Virginia.  The preliminary report was prepared at the instruction of President Barack Obama.  The DOL stressed that this report was preliminary in nature and that nothing therein should be viewed as pre-supposing the results of its investigation.

New MSHA Standards for High-Voltage Continuous Mining Machines

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 6

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC

            On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, MSHA published a new final rule revising electrical safety standards for the installation, use, and maintenance of high-voltage continuous mining machines in coal mines.  The new standards become effective on June 7, 2010.  Mine operators already using high-voltage continuous miners under an approved Petition for Modification (PFM) are directly affected by the rule which supersedes all existing PFMs allowing such equipment.

MSHA’s Strategic Plan: A Roadmap for 2010 through 2016

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC

Volume 6, Number 5

©2010 Jackson Kelly PLLC 

            On March 25, 2010, MSHA hosted a live web chat to discuss the drafting of the agency’s Strategic Plan and solicited comments from various stakeholders.  An overview of the draft Strategic Plan is published on the Department of Labor website.  MSHA indicated that it will implement strategies such as enhancing enforcement of miner’s rights and bolstering MSHA’s special investigations, along with targeting special areas of concern such as impoundment safety and improvement in consistency of MSHA training and enforcement.  MSHA also indicated that it will achieve its goal of reducing injuries and fatalities by encouraging and enforcing a focus on prevention.