New NLRB, OSHA could impact manufacturers

• A recent partnership between the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and fed-OSHA to enhance information-sharing and cross-agency consultations will impact manufacturing employers.
• The partnership could lead to more investigations and enforcement efforts from both agencies to industry employers.
• If a worker complains their team did not receive the right mask or safeguards, the agency partnership may give OSHA more incentive to share what it finds with the NLRB which could lead to a safety-related ULP charge.
• The most frequent complaints from manufacturing employees involve safety-related equipment and employers must diligently document the steps taken and information obtained during any workplace safety investigation.
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North Carolina firm fined after propane explosion

• The North Carolina Department of Labor issued citations and fines to Camp Clearwater in White Lake, following an inspection after an employee was killed in a propane explosion in May.
• Clearwater Enterprises Inc. was cited for four alleged serious violations and one alleged non-serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina with a total penalty of $12,937.50.
• A 56-year-old female employee at Camp Clearwater Campground was severely burned while attempting to fill a propane cylinder at the business propane filling station. She later died from her injuries.
• The safe operating switch for the dispenser was missing one of the four screws holding the cover on the switch box and another wasn’t tight, allowing a 1/8″ gap between the cover and switch box.
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Noise-level program renewed for mid-Atlantic workplaces

• The U.S. Labor Dept. renewed a Regional Emphasis Program to focus inspections in three mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia on industries with high levels of workplace noise, which can contribute to worker hearing loss.
• A common workplace health concern, hearing loss can be permanent and debilitating. In fact, potential hearing loss is a hazard for about 22 million U.S. workers, the National Institute Occupational Safety and Health estimates.
• In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found about 12,000 workers suffered work-related hearing loss. 9,700 of them were workers employed in the manufacturing industry.
• To protect people employed in industries with high-risk noise issues, OSHA in Philadelphia renewed the regional program for Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia for a five-year term.
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Government watchdog looking at mine injuries

• The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General has a new inquiry into the federal government’s capability to respond to mine emergencies.
• The audit aims to look at the mine agency’s responses to emergencies and its preparedness for future emergencies.
• The letter didn’t cite specific mine disasters the watchdog would look at.
• The last large-scale mining catastrophe was the April 2010 Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that took the lives of 29 miners.
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