OSHA releases past year’s most frequently cited standards
- Dealing with falls remains OSHA’s s most frequently cited worker safety and health standard in 2022, marking its 12th straight year atop the agency’s “Top 10” list.
- Chemical hazards were second with 1,939 violations and consisted of those produced in the workplace and those imported into the workplace.
- No, 3 was ladder protection, which has had 2,018 violations over the last year.
- The fourth most cited infraction was for establishing or maintaining a respiratory protection program. It lists requirements for program administration.
Health center denied claim over whistleblower
- A New York health center suspended and later terminated an employee who had reported personal concerns about exposure to COVID-19.
- The so-called whistleblower exercised his rights under OSH Act, which protects workers from retaliation when reporting a hazardous work condition.
- The health center proceeded to file a motion in October of 2021, preventing the department from seeking damages for the whistleblower.
- However, a federal court has rejected the health center’s case under the protection of the OSH Act.
Challenges protecting workers from pesticides
- The EPA delegates most of its enforcement authority to the states.
- As a result, the agency rarely conducts inspections itself.
- The EPA also lacks inspection data and other critical information on state regulatory activities.
- Consequently, the agency cannot really ensure that states adhere to federal guidelines.
Protocols now followed after deaths
- An accident that killed two workers conducting maintenance on a boiler system at a VA hospital in Connecticut. substantiates a whistleblower’s allegations that employees did not follow proper protocols, a federal investigation found.
- There was allegedly no control of hazardous energy or adequate training, among other violations.
- Special Counsel Henry Kerner remained concerned that safety hazards at the hospital have still not been addressed almost two years after the deadly incident.
- A report from OSHA concluded the deaths of a VA maintenance worker and a private contractor could have been prevented.