Agency to provide ‘U’ and ‘T’ visa certifications
- OSHA will have the authority to issue certifications in support of applications for U Nonimmigrant Status and T Nonimmigrant Status visas.
- “U Visas” and “T Visas” allow victims of specific crimes to help law enforcement detect, investigate and prosecute crimes without fear of retaliation based on their immigration status.
- These visas provide immigration status to non-citizen victims and allow them to remain in the U.S. to assist authorities in combatting human trafficking and other crimes.
- OSHA’s new authority is effective March 30 and will strengthen its ability to protect workers whose immigration status discourages them from reporting workplace safety and health issues.
Airport contractor partners with OSHA
- Holder-Moody-Bryson-Sovereign, a contractor at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, is partnering with OSHA to prevent worker injuries.
- Holder-Moody-Bryson-Sovereign will be responsible for expanding Concourse D — one of the biggest projects in the airport’s multiyear expansion program.
- Concourse D will be expanded by 359,000 square feet and the contractors will relocate about 2,600 feet of water and sanitary lines.
- OSHA will train employees, employers, and supervisors on safety and reducing exposures to hazards, and contractors will create safety and health management systems
OSHA’s new Site-Specific Targeting Inspection program
- OSHA has four categories in the Site-Specific Targeting program with three that rely on data reported via Form 300A submissions.
- The agency requires employers to electronically report employees’ days absent, days of restricted duty, or days of transferred positions, due to injuries and illnesses.
- OSHA then uses this information collectively to calculate a national Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred rate.
- The SST program does not set a specific number of inspections per area office or the total number of the agency must conduct per year.
AGs want more protection from heat
- Attorneys general from seven states — California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania — want OSHA to better protect workers from heat exposure.
- In a petition sent to OSHA administrator Doug Parker, the attorney’s general calls for an ETS that applies when the heat index reaches 80° F.
- The rule, they add, should include provisions for water, rest breaks, shade, acclimatization plans, and temperature and workload monitoring.
- The petition notes that California, Oregon, and Washington have each issued an ETS on workplace heat.