Healthcare Employers Advised to Review Policies Ahead of Workplace Violence Rule

• With OSHA’s proposed rule on the prevention of workplace violence in healthcare and social assistance seen likely to be published by year end, employers are being advised to review as soon as possible existing workplace safety policies and evaluate whether they adequately address workplace violence.
• In a post on the SHRM website, lawyers from the Fisher Phillips firm wrote that at the federal level, OSHA has long taken the position that employers are required to “take reasonable steps to prevent or abate a recognized violence hazard in the workplace.”
• They also said that the agency’s 2016 guidance on workplace violence, while not legally binding, recommends incorporating a written program for workplace violence prevention and provides detailed measures and checklists for implementing the program.
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As 2023 OSHA Inspection Remains Open, Deadly Cleveland Incident Heads to Court

• With a still-open OSHA inspection that found a Cleveland-area metal facility at fault in the February 2023 explosion and fire that killed one and injured 13, the matter is now going to court.
• A personal injury lawsuit on behalf of 13 workers at the I. Schumann and Co. plant and 5 of their spouses has been filed in Cuyahoga County Court, alleging that R&T Sheet Metal Fabricators, Inc. and Forest City Erectors, Inc. are responsible.
• According to OSHA, the case status remains open. The inspection found that employees were conducting maintenance on a furnace that was not locked out at the time.
• OSHA cited the company for six serious violations and proposed a fine of $62,500.
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Using Crane as Alternative for Broken Elevator Costs Washington Contractor

• The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited and fined Lane Construction Corporation in July for workers riding a crane lift to get in and out of a 95-foot vertical shaft at a construction site for the Seattle Public Utilities’ Ship Canal Water Quality Project.
• In a Tuesday announcement, the workers told inspectors the construction elevator that was supposed to take them in and out of the shaft broke down in January. 
• Rather than repairing the elevator, Lane’s management decided to provide employee access to the tunnel by using a large crane at the work location.
• Lane Construction was cited with two willful serious and two serious violations totaling $155,300 in the latest case.
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