Trump EO to Discourage Criminal Enforcement of Regulatory Offenses
- President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order discouraging criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses, Reuters reported Friday, citing a White House official.
- The EO would require agencies to publicly post a list of regulatory violations that can result in criminal charges, and guidance on the circumstances under which violators would be referred for prosecution.
- The order would discourage prosecutors from filing charges not on the lists, and charges that do not require prosecutors to prove the defendant had criminal intent.
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Brian Rizzo, Arlene Williams Appointed Acting Heads of OSHA Directorates
- Brian Rizzo is now the acting leader of the Directorate of Construction at OSHA, according to the agency’s updated organizational chart.
- He takes over for Timothy Irving, who also served in the role on an acting basis. Rizzo most recently was director of the Office of Construction Services and is a former director of OSHA’s area office in Norfolk, Virginia
- Arlene Williams has been named acting director of the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, taking over for director Doug Kalinowski. She previously was deputy director.
Hearing on OSHA Overreach Slated for This Week, Livestream
- The U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, chaired by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), will hold a hearing titled “Reclaiming OSHA’s Mission: Ensuring Safety Without Overreach” on May 15.
- The hearing will be livestreamed beginning at 10:15 a.m.
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Oligarch-owned Evraz Faces $575,000 Saskatchewan Workplace Fine
- Evraz Inc. NA Canada has been fined $575,000 for a violation of Saskatchewan’s workplace safety regulations, After a worker was badly injured at its Regina facility.
- Parent Evraz plc is a U.K.-incorporated multinational steel manufacturing and mining company part-owned by Russian oligarchs. It has operations mainly in Russia as well as the U.S., Canada, and Kazakhstan.
- A court document indicates that on December 4, 2022, an employee was working with a machine used to split coiled steel into sections to be made into pipe. The worker “suffered serious injuries while inspecting the underside of sheet metal as it was being mechanically moved through the metal slitting machine,” adds the government release.
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BLS Data Daily Focuses on Construction’s Deadly Falls
- The May 9 posting on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “TED: The Economics Daily” highlighted fall hazards and the importance of fall prevention in the construction industry, as part of the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction.
- The widely read TED noted that in 2023, about 1 in 5 (20.8%) workplace deaths occurred in the construction industry and 38.5% of these deaths were due to falls, slips, and trips.
- The construction industry accounted for 47.8% of all fatal falls, slips, and trips in 2023.
- Within the construction industry in 2023, roofing contractors accounted for 26.0% of fatalities due to falls, slips, and trips with 110 deaths. Residential building construction accounted for another 14.7% with 62 deaths.
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