Newsline

OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking Feb. 10 to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. 

ABC General Counsel Maurice Baskin Feb. 4 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections during a hearing titled, “OSHA’s Regulatory Agenda: Changing Long-Standing Policies Outside the Public Rulemaking Process.” On behalf of ABC and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Baskin addressed a Feb. 21, 2013, letter of interpretation (LOI) from OSHA allowing union agents and community organizers for the first time to accompany safety inspectors into nonunion facilities, as long as an unspecified (non-majority) number of employees in the nonunion work place designate one.

ABC is reminding its contractor member firms that 2013 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries must be posted in a visible spot on all construction sites Feb. 1 through April 30. 

OSHA Jan. 24 announced a 15-day extension of the public comment deadline for OSHA’s proposed crystalline silica rulemaking, moving the deadline from Jan. 27 to Feb. 11. The extension comes in response to an error on OSHA’s public comment submission page, which was first identified by ABC and brought to OSHA’s attention. 

OSHA held an informal public meeting Jan. 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C., to receive public feedback on a proposed rule that would require employers to submit to the agency electronically detailed injury and illness data that would be made publicly available through an online database. Employer groups, including the ABC-led Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS), took the opportunity to express serious concerns over OSHA’s proposal. 

According to OSHA’s latest semiannual regulatory agenda, released Nov. 27, the agency plans to issue a final rule on confined spaces and a notice of proposed rulemaking on injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) in 2014. The regulatory agenda lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year; however, OSHA is not required to adhere to the timeline.

On Nov.8, OSHA proposed a rule that would require employers to submit specific injury and illness data electronically to OSHA on a quarterly or annual basis. 

Employers have until Dec. 1 to train their employees on the changes made to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Global Harmonization Standard (GHS) including the new “Safety Data Sheets” (SDS).  

On Oct. 25, OSHA announced a 47-day extension of the public comment deadline for OSHA’s proposed crystalline silica rulemaking from Dec. 11 to Jan. 27. More than 25 business organizations, including ABC, the Construction Industry Safety Coalition and others in the industry, requested additional time for stakeholders to appropriately analyze OSHA’s proposal, develop useful data and provide meaningful feedback. Also requesting extensions were the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Small Business Committee and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Most requests, including ABC’s, asked for 90 days

The DOL on July 3 released its spring regulatory agenda outlining the activities of its sub-agencies for the remainder of 2013, including OSHA. The regulatory agenda lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year; however, OSHA is not required to adhere to the timeline.