Oregon OSHA fields complaint deluge after governor’s executive order

OR-OSHA received about 400 workplace safety complaints in just 24 hours last week after Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order shutting down numerous businesses statewide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The complaints have included a shortage in personal protective equipment like N95 masks, general sanitation issues and employers not enforcing social distancing guidelines. KPTV (Portland) [with video]

 

Oregon businesses have a link to report violations during pandemic

OR-OSHA has an online “hazard report” that employees can fill out to submit complaints during the coronavirus pandemic. KATU (Portland)

 

Construction industry groups resist COVID-19 reporting rule

Construction industry trade groups and others are pushing back on a Fed-OSHA rule that requires reporting workplace exposures to coronavirus, on grounds that its accelerating community spread defies conventional means for contractors to trace its origins. Construction Dive

 

Oklahoma doctors, nurses received expired PPE

A spokesman for the Oklahoma State Health Department last week confirmed that all of the personal protective equipment for physicians, hospital and nursing staff received last week from the Strategic National Stockpile was expired, including N95 respirator masks. According to the CDC website, N95 masks that are past their designated shelf-life no longer meet NIOSH standards; however, the CDC says preliminary information from a NIOSH study “suggests certain N95 models beyond their manufacturer-designated shelf life will be protective” but should only be used according to specific guidelines. Oklahoman [with video, audio]

 

COVID-19 and Fed-OSHA reporting and recordkeeping

Fed-OSHA generally requires employers to record employee illnesses that are (1) work-related, (2) new, and (3) meet Fed-OSHA’s recording criteria. The agency recently issued guidance explaining how this requirement applies to COVID-19, three attorneys at law firm Wiggin and Dana explain. National Law Review

 

IOSH manager retaliated against inspector who reported hostile work environment, board rules

IOSH officials acted with bias when they opened a disciplinary investigation into a workplace safety inspector who reported a hostile work environment inside the agency, a state agency has ruled. The state’s Public Employment Relations Board concluded managers targeted the inspector after he cooperated with an investigation into allegations of retaliation, bullying and favoritism in the office. U.S. News & World Report

 

Fed-OSHA issues no citations in New Hampshire asphalt plant accident

Fed-OSHA has declined to issue citations in an August 2019 incident at a Northfield, New Hampshire asphalt plant during which an employee was burned in a loading accident. The employee said that as she was positioning her truck to accept 6,000 pounds of the hot mix, asphalt began flowing out of an overhead chute before she was prepared for it. New Hampshire Union Leader

 

Two employers cleared in Maine propane blast

Fed-OSHA has cleared two of the four companies involved in a propane explosion last year at a Farmington, Maine building. Two other companies, one of which installed the bollard that punctured the propane pipe, were cited and fined approximately $16,000 total. WABI (Bangor, Maine) [with video]