Note: OSHA Today will take its annual summer break starting Monday, July 1, and resume daily publication on Monday, July 15. Happy Fourth of July to all of our valued subscribers!
New Chief Judge Named to OSHA Citations Appeals Panel
- Keith Bell, a career government attorney and administrative law judge, has been named as the next chief judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. He’ll assume the role July 14.
- Outgoing Chief Judge Covette Rooney, in the role since 2011, announced her retirement in March.
- The chief judge presides over complex and significant appeals of OSHA’s citations and has responsibility for case management as well as oversight of the commission’s 11 administrative law judges.
READ MORE
Supreme Court Ruling on Chevron Doctrine Still to Come
- With only days to go until the end of the term, the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on the so-called Chevron doctrine, which industry observers say could radically change the way agencies like OSHA regulate.
- The court could overturn entirely, or only narrow, the principle that courts must defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute.
- OSHA regulations that targeted the spread of COVID in workplaces early in the pandemic is one example of how the Chevron doctrine can allow agencies to act in the absence of Congressional action.
READ MORE
Examining How Intellectual Property Innovation Drives Workplace Safety
- The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is examining how intellectual property is being deployed for occupational safety and health solutions.
- It is now a third of the way through a three-year project to help individuals and organizations to invest in developing and commercializing occupational safety and health solutions.
- One project, Triax Technologies’s Spot-r system, leverages the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to detect falls, locate workers in emergencies, and enable direct communication on construction sites.
- This has significantly reduced evacuation and triage times, directly addressing the high rate of fatalities in this sector.
READ MORE