OSHA investigates after zoo employee attacked by Komodo dragon

• An OSHA investigation showed no employee safety standards were violated after an employee at an Ohio zoo was attacked by a Komodo dragon.
• The zoo said the worker suffered injuries while in the Komodo Kingdom employee service area but it’s unclear what led to the attack.
• The worker was recovering at home following the attack.
• The Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute said a Komodo dragon attack can be fatal to humans.
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Walk-around rule is close to being finalized

• OSHA is close to enacting a rule that specifies that workers can choose whoever they want to represent them during safety and health inspections.
• The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed its review of the so-called “walkaround rule,” which is usually among the last steps before a final rule appears in the Federal Register and is adopted.
• Employer groups have complained OSHA’s original proposal, issued last August, will allow union activists to participate in inspections and encourage workers to organize.
• Worker advocates counter that employers are already assured by federal law that they can accompany OSHA inspectors.
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OSHA probing steel-beam fall in Boston

• OSHA is investigating after a steel beam fell more than 20 stories at a $1.5 billion skyscraper project over Boston’s South Station.
• The agency’s investigation could take six months.
• The contracting firm agreed to shut down the project temporarily out of an abundance of caution and as OSHA investigates the incident.
• The city of Boston’s investigation is checking to see if the construction company followed a new city ordinance that requires safety plans to be submitted for every site.
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Sausage factory faces fines

• An investigation by OSHA found similar workplace safety hazards as identified in a Dec. 8, 2022 inspection at Dean Sausage Co. Inc. in Alabama, allowing workers to be exposed to hazards related to lockout/tagout, machine guarding, hazard communication, and blocked exits.
• The current inspection led OSHA to cite the employer with seven repeat violations for exposing employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards by failing to develop and use machine-specific lockout/tagout procedures and by not maintaining machine guarding.
• Dean Sausage failed to maintain clear exits, and to implement a written hazard communication program, including worker training, for those working with hazardous chemicals. The employer also did not maintain the required safety data sheets for the materials.
• OSHA also cited the company with two serious violations for lacking lockout/tagout procedures to protect employees before they cleared a machine’s bread cutter and proposed $116,153 in penalties.
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