Nation still dealing with mandates
- The Supreme Court struck down OSHA’s vaccinate-or-test policy for employers with 100 or more employees.
- However, the court allowed the vaccine requirement for facilities that get Medicare and Medicaid funds to remain.
- The military’s vaccine mandate was still intact until the repeal of it was included in lawmakers’ compromise text of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which the president signed last month.
- The three oversight entities are being established this year by the CARES Act to continue oversight of the massive amount of money allocated for the pandemic response.
OSHA watching scissor lifts with increased sales
- The market for scissor lifts, used for efficient and safe elevated material handling. will expand at 3.5 percent through 2031.
- As a result, OSHA has established guidelines to safeguard employees from any potential risks brought on by scissor lifts.
- OSHA’s scaffolding standard already addresses a number of different types of scissor lifts.
- This should be a positive trend for the market for scissor lifts moving forward.
- The Coroner’s Office in York County, Pennsylvania, said was called to Hanover Foods after an employee fell into a bean hopper.
- The 59-year-old victim was found in the bean hopper just after 2:30 a.m., but it was not clear how long he had been there.
- Employees said that when they pulled the victim out of the equipment, he “was conscious and standing upright and attempting to walk initially after removal.”
- He soon lost consciousness and was pronounced dead when emergency life-saving measures were unsuccessful, according to reports.
Roofing companies pile up penalties
- Fall hazards are one of OSHA’s most frequently-cited violations for roofing contractors, and there were some heavy fines in the past year.
- ALJ Home Improvement of Nanuet, N.Y., received $1,343,363 in proposed penalties after the OSHA investigated an employee’s fatal fall, which was the second in three years.
- OSHA proposed a total of $1,201,031 in penalties after an employee working with DME Construction Associates of Setauket, N.Y., died after falling 18 feet through an unprotected skylight.
- Premier South Roofing LLC of Baton Rouge, La., faces $249,323 in proposed penalties from both inspections after a worker died when he lost his footing and fell through a skylight.