OSHA could further assess post-incident drug testing
- Given the increased use of marijuana, legalization, and state testing restrictions, federal OSHA may begin focusing on and scrutinizing employer post-incident drug tests. That also could lead to more citations and penalties.
- Several states have restricted or limited drug testing for cannabis, which is legal in 38 states. However, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, and drug testing is required under the Motor Carrier Safety Act.
- OSHA allows an employer to drug test an employee who reports a work-related injury or illness if it has an “objectively reasonable basis for testing.”
- The agency’s evaluation of “reasonableness” considers whether there is a basis to conclude that drug use could have contributed to the incident.
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Fatalities at Dollar General
- Since 2014, there have been 49 people killed and 172 people injured at Dollar General stores, according to data from the non-profit group Gun Violence Archive.
- An investigation in 2020 found that at least six store employees died during armed robberies from 2016 to 2020.
- Workers and their allies rallied outside Dollar General’s headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, to protect these conditions, before the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
- In recent years, OSHA has cited unsafe conditions at dozens of Dollar General stores.
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Chewy wins OSHA challenge
- A U.S. appeals court ruled that pet supply retailer Chewy Inc did not violate federal workplace safety law by failing to prevent a forklift accident that killed a warehouse worker, and threw out a fine against the company.
- A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said OSHA could not fine Chewy for violating its “General Duty Clause” to maintain a safe workplace because it had complied with a specific rule regulating forklifts.
- OSHA proposed a $13,000 penalty in 2019 after an employee at an Ocala, Florida warehouse drove a forklift underneath a shelving unit and was crushed.
- Another worker had been injured in a similar incident a few months earlier.
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OSHA recognized Holter Dam
- The OSHA Voluntary Protection Program has re-certified Holter Dam as a “Star” worksite, recognizing workplaces that go above and beyond to keep employees safe.
- The Holter Dam was built back in 1918 and has helped power communities since its construction.
- This is the third time in a row Holter Dam has been recognized as a Star worksite by the Voluntary Protection Program.
- Out of the 74 VP Program sites in OSHA’s Region VIII, there are 10 in Montana, and four of those are NorthWestern Energy hydroelectric facilities.
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