OSHA mulls interim rule
- OSHA intends to implement an interim final rule to clarify how it uses subpoenas.
- The agency may compel businesses to hand over records or documents related to an investigation before a certain deadline.
- The goal is to make the subpoena process more consistent and transparent for employers.
- The proposal may get some resistance from employers, but it isn’t subject to the full rulemaking process for federal agencies because it’s not considered a substantial change.
Warning issued for carbon monoxide poisoning
- OSHA is telling employers to take appropriate precautions to protect workers from carbon monoxide exposures in enclosed spaces.
- This risk is more prevalent in winter because many people turn to portable generators and other fuel-burning equipment for electricity and warmth.
- Employers and workers who use fuel-burning equipment indoors or in semi-enclosed spaces with inadequate ventilation must be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
- In addition to portable generators and similar equipment, carbon monoxide is produced when fuel combusts in powered tools, compressors, pumps, welding equipment, furnaces, forklifts, and motorized vehicles.
South Dakota addressed Amazon’s safety risks
- The South Dakota State Senate is holding hearings on the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, a measure being discussed in states nationwide to address dangerous quotas in Amazon warehouses.
- he legislation would require Amazon and other major warehouse companies to provide workers with a copy of any quotas and ensure that quotas do not interfere with legally protected breaks.
- Similar laws have already been enacted in California and New York and have been introduced in six other states so far this year.
- Amazon’s injury rates are more than double the rate at other warehouses, according to a 2021 study.
New Jersey contractor faces $500,000 fine
- A New Jersey contractor and its principal pleaded guilty to violating OSHA regulations over the death of a worker at a Poughkeepsie, N.Y. construction site.
- Prosecutors say the company’s operations manager ignored an engineer’s approved plan, which led to a fatal retaining wall collapse.
- OneKey, the general contractor on an apartment building project at the site, faces a fine of up to $500,000.
- Finbar O’Neill, the operations manager from Paramus, N.J., faces up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.