OSHA rules for federal workers are legal

• A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that OSHA’s safety rules for federal workers are legal and don’t go beyond Congress’ intent for the agency’s power.
• The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Allstates Refractory Contractors LLC of Waterville, Ohio, that sought to void OSHA’s rules, which have been in place for 50 years.
• The company alleged that most rules enacted by OSHA were unconstitutional because the law creating the agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, gave OSHA too much discretion in deciding which hazards to regulate.
• Allstates’ attorneys argued the only OSHA rules that were legal were those based on federal regulations already enforced by other agencies when OSHA was created and voluntary industry consensus standards in the early 1970s that Congress said OSHA could adopt.
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OSHA’s annual summary to be posted

• The OSHA annual summary will be posted no later than February 1 of the year following the year covered by the summary.
• The OSHA annual summary is a form that summarizes the recordable work-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during the previous calendar year.
• The summary has to be completed by all employers unless exempted due to the size of the business or the nature of the activities.
• The summary must remain posted from Feb. 1 to April 30. During that time, employers should inform members of the workforce that the summary has been posted.
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Nevada OSHA proposes penalty after worker’s death

• Nevada OSHA is proposing more than $140,000 in fines to the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority after an investigation into a worker’s death this January.
• The tourism agency failed to provide adequate training and protection for employees.
• Ryan Wilkinson, 43, was removing temporary electrical cable drops after a hot tub sale when he fell 34 feet to the concrete floor below.
• Investigators wrote that Wilkinson left a catwalk, tried to access a steel structure 42 inches below, and fell through drop ceiling tiles.
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Michigan hotel cited in carbon monoxide death 

• The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the maximum penalty allowed under law to an Ann Arbor hotel following a fatal carbon monoxide poisoning of a maintenance worker.
• The 49-year-old hotel employee died after being found slouched against a wall of a third-floor boiler room at Victory Inn and Suites of Ann Arbor on Nov. 28, 2022.
• The man’s death resulted from excessive exposure to carbon monoxide, according to his autopsy.
• MIOSHA imposed six serious citations and two willful-serious citations totaling $155,600 in penalties against US 23 Lodge LLC, which operates Victory Inn and Suites. The maximum penalty for each willful penalty is $70,000 under the MIOSHA Act.
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