OSHA will not back down from enforcement
- Don’t expect many changes with OSHA enforcement even with the change in leadership in the House of Representatives.
- OSHA will be active in protecting America’s workforce under current proposals.
- The agency already directed its inspectors to pay special attention to heat-related issues during worksite inspections that took place in 2021 and 2022.
- OSHA also initiated a new enforcement program designed to identify those employers who failed to submit Form 300A injury and illness report data through its online Injury Tracking Application.
Amazon fights federal subpoena
- The U.S. Labor Dept. asked a judge to order that Amazon fully comply with 35 subpoenas seeking thousands of records issued as part of an ongoing investigation by OSHA over alleged safety violations.
- Amazon is contesting the subpoenas and seeking a June 30 compliance deadline for the documents.
- The company claims that the government has set unrealistic deadlines, among other issues.
- The U.S. Attorney is looking into whether Amazon engaged in a “fraudulent scheme to hide the true number of injuries” and whether the company made false representations to lenders about injuries.
Arkansas lumber company faces huge fine after worker’s death
- OSHA proposed $218,759 in penalties for a Texas-based lumber company after the death of a worker in Rison, Arkansas, last year.
- An 18-year-old worker was fatally struck by a forklift when a makeshift brake on the vehicle failed.
- Investigators found that Hixson Lumber Co. LLC has been allowing the teen to operate the forklift without proper certification, and had been left unsupervised at the time of the incident.
- Hixson was cited for five violations, alleging it failed to train the worker, left keys inside unsecured forklifts, and did not ensure the forklift had a proper parking brake.
Ford SUV exhaust issues resolved
- Federal investigators have closed a more than six-year investigation into exhaust odors in Ford Explorer passenger cabins.
- It was determined that the SUVs don’t have high levels of carbon monoxide and don’t need to be recalled.
- The probe covered nearly 1.5 million Explorers from the 2011 to 2017 model years.
- Regulators reportedly received multiple complaints of sickness and wrecks caused by the exhaust fumes that involved three deaths and 657 injuries.