Seventh Circuit Upholds Permit-Required Confined Space OSHA Violations
Posted on May 9, 2015 in Construction, OSHA | Comments Off on Seventh Circuit Upholds Permit-Required Confined Space OSHA Violations
At an Illinois manufacturing plant, a worker fell into a large bin used for storing sand and became trapped. At first buried up to his neck, some of his co-workers were able to remove the sand above his waist but not get him out of the pit or remove any additional sand. The plant manager arrived on the scene about 10-15 minutes later and determined that no emergency existed and left...
Supreme Court Declines To Review MSHA/OSHA Jurisdiction Dispute Over Coal Preparation Facility
Posted on Mar 24, 2015 in Construction, Litigation, OSHA | Comments Off on Supreme Court Declines To Review MSHA/OSHA Jurisdiction Dispute Over Coal Preparation Facility
The new owner of a Pennsylvania custom coal preparation facility that the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulated since 1977 challenged whether MSHA properly had jurisdiction over the plant, and instead contended that it should be regulated by OSHA. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission concluded that MSHA jurisdiction was appropriate because the...
Work Product Protection Does Not Extend To Claims Investigator’s Report In Admiralty Case
Posted on Mar 5, 2015 in Investigations, Litigation, OSHA, Transportation | Comments Off on Work Product Protection Does Not Extend To Claims Investigator’s Report In Admiralty Case
Company A chartered a barge to Company B as a platform for A/C generation and refrigeration of fish products. In the summer of 2011, the President of Company A wrote to Company B requesting that it examine the barge for potential electrolysis given fears that the barge had developed a starboard list. Company B responded that it did not have responsibility or the time to inspect...
OSHA Inspections Can Get Costly; Manufacturer Hit With $1.7 Million In Proposed Penalties
Posted on Feb 19, 2015 in Construction, OSHA | Comments Off on OSHA Inspections Can Get Costly; Manufacturer Hit With $1.7 Million In Proposed Penalties
While inspecting an injury at a furniture manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, OSHA expanded its inspection to the full facility and identified 12 alleged willful, 12 repeated, and 14 serious safety violations that carry a $1.76 million proposed penalty. OSHA also placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Specifically, OSHA cited the company for failing to take...
Recent Decision Raises Many Questions About Privilege Of Internal Investigations
Posted on Jan 26, 2015 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, OSHA, Process Safety | Comments Off on Recent Decision Raises Many Questions About Privilege Of Internal Investigations
Before your company launches its next internal investigation, it would be wise to consider a recent opinion from a federal magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, which if stands, elevates the bar for making sure that the documents created in an internal investigation can be protected from discovery in litigation. The court, applying federal...
Remember, New OSHA Reporting Requirements Go Into Effect January 1, 2015
Posted on Dec 15, 2014 in OSHA | Comments Off on Remember, New OSHA Reporting Requirements Go Into Effect January 1, 2015
As a reminder, OSHA’s final rule expanding employer notification requirements when a worker is killed on the job, or suffers a work related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye goes into effect for employers in states covered by federal OSHA on January 1, 2015. OSHA contends that this expanded data will assist its task of targeting compliance assistance. There are two...
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