Wisconsin updated the “Hours and Times of Day Minors May Work in Wisconsin” required posting for employers July, 2011. The update eliminates all restrictions on the hours 16-year-olds may work, except during school hours. The change also simplifies the “Maximum Hours of Work for Minors Chart” by removing 16-year-olds, and keeping in place weekly hour [...]

This summer OSHA launched a nationwide outreach campaign to raise awareness among workers and employers about the hazards of working outdoors in hot weather (heat-related illness). OSHA’s website informs businesses on the importance of preventing Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/index.html OSHA has also partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on weather [...]

We continue our series of top OSHA violations for small companies (1-19 employees) this week by looking at the mining industry. In total in the 2010 fiscal year OSHA inspected 208 of these small companies and handed out 662 citations. These citations cost employers more than $1 million combined. In total the average citation cost [...]

OSHA is in the midst of switching from the MSDS system of categorizing chemicals and their hazards to the Global Harmonized System. To help answer some of the questions about this switch Safety Services talked with OSHA representatives about the switch. 1. Why did OSHA start the process to switch to the GHS? The main [...]

During the coming weeks we will be looking at the top 10 Federal OSHA violations for small companies (1-19 employees) across 10 federal classifications. First up is construction. In total in the 2010 fiscal year OSHA inspected 16,473small construction companies and handed out 50,630 citations. These citations cost employers more than $46 million or an [...]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the forthcoming release of a new rule that is aimed at streamlining and simplifying standards while reducing employer burdens. “We estimate that the final rule, without reducing employee protection, will result in annual cost savings to employers exceeding $43 million and significant reductions in [...]

In a statement made before a federal appropriations committee U.S. Department of Labor Hilda Solis announced her department would be requesting additional funds to enforce OSHA’s whistle blower program in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which runs Oct. 2011 to Sept. 2012. “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must ensure that all employers are able [...]

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Lake Zurich, Illinois nursing home with 17 safety and health violations after a nurse practitioner allegedly was injured in a November 2010 needle stick incident. “Employers are responsible for knowing the health and safety hazards that apply to their facilities, and for [...]

OSHA denotes 14,600 employers with highest risk The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has identified the 14,600 employers with the highest occupational injury and illness rates and is urging the employers to take action to remove hazards causing the high rates. The employers are those whose establishments are covered by Federal OSHA and reported the [...]

The National Hearing Conservation Association is urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reconsider the defining of “feasible” engineering and administrative controls to mitigate occupational noise. “The United States currently lags behind many industrialized nations in the implementation of effective noise controls.  There appears to be a misconception that 29 CFR 1910.95 (current regulation) [...]