The new webpage includes real-life examples from healthcare organizations that have incorporated successful workplace violence prevention programs, and models of how a workplace violence prevention program can complement and enhance an organization’s strategies for compliance and a culture of safety.
Similar to the guidelines, the new strategies and tools focus on workplace violence prevention programs that include elements such as management commitment and worker participation, worksite analysis and hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, safety and health training, and recordkeeping and program evaluation.
“Too many healthcare workers face threats and physical violence on the job while caring for our loved ones,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “It is not right that these valuable workers continue to be injured and sometimes killed on the job. Most of these injuries are preventable and OSHA is providing these resources to help combat these incidents and raise awareness that violence does not need to be part of the job.”
From 2002 to 2013, incidents of serious workplace violence were four times more common in healthcare than in private industry on average, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Healthcare accounts for nearly as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined. The webpage addresses this issue by providing hospital administrators with information on the risk factors, associated costs, and actions that can be taken to manage the problem.
New Exclusions for Solvent Recycling and Hazardous Secondary Materials
EPA’s new final rule on the definition of solid waste creates new opportunities for waste recycling outside the scope of the full hazardous waste regulations. This rule, which went into effect on July 13, 2015, streamlines the regulatory burden for wastes that are legitimately recycled.
The first of the two exclusions is an exclusion from the definition of solid waste for high-value solvents transferred from one manufacturer to another for the purpose of extending the useful life of the original solvent by keeping the materials in commerce to reproduce a commercial grade of the original solvent product.
The second, and more wide reaching of the two exclusions, is a revision of the existing hazardous secondary material recycling exclusion. This exclusion allows you to recycle, or send off-site for recycling, virtually any hazardous secondary material. Provided you meet the terms of the exclusion, the material will no longer be hazardous waste.
Learn how to take advantage of these exclusions at Environmental Resource Center’s live webcast where you will learn:
- Which of your materials qualify under the new exclusions
- What qualifies as a hazardous secondary material
- Which solvents can be remanufactured, and which cannot
- What is a tolling agreement
- What is legitimate recycling
- Generator storage requirements
- What documentation you must maintain
- Requirements for off-site shipments
- Training and emergency planning requirements
- If it is acceptable for the recycler to be outside the US
Cleveland RCRA and DOT Training
Cary RCRA, DOT, IATA/IMO, and SARA Training
Anaheim RCRA and DOT Training
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on safety data sheets.
Environmental Resource Center is offering live online training for you to learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented.
California Lists Aloe Vera, Non-Decolorized Whole Leaf Extract and Goldenseal Root Powder as Carcinogens
Effective December 4, 2015, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is adding Aloe vera, non-decolorized whole leaf extract and Goldenseal root powder to the list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 651).
Health and Safety Code section 25249.8(a) incorporates California Labor Code section 6382(b)(1) into Proposition 65. Regulations describing the process for listing chemicals via the Labor Code are set out in Title 27, Cal. Code of Regs., section 25904. The law requires that certain substances identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) be listed as known to cause cancer under Proposition 65. Labor Code section 6382(b)(1) refers to substances identified as human or animal carcinogens by IARC.
The title of the notice was “Notice of Intent to List Chemicals by the Labor Code Mechanism: Aloe Vera, Whole Leaf Extract and Goldenseal Root Powder.” The publication of the notice initiated a public comment period. We received thirty-five public comments. The comments and OEHHA’s responses are posted with the Notice of Intent to List.
2,5-Hexanedione Listed as Reproductive Toxin, Methyl-N-Butyl Ketone a Developmental Toxin
Effective December 4, 2015, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added 2,5-hexanedione (CAS No. 110-13-4) to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65). The DARTIC determined that 2,5-hexanedione was clearly shown through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles to cause reproductive toxicity, based on the male reproductive endpoint. Regulations for the listing of chemicals by the DARTIC are set out in Title 27, California Code of Regulations, section 25305(b)(1).
Hair Salon Fired Employee Who Warned Workers of Formaldehyde Hazards, Must Pay $165,000
A receptionist fired illegally at a Bronx hair salon in June 2012 for telling her colleagues about the hazards of a formaldehyde-containing straightener the salon used will be compensated for unlawful retaliation, and her former employer will take corrective action, according to a federal consent judgment obtained by the US Department of Labor.
The judgment orders the defendants to pay the former employee $65,000 in lost wages and $100,000 in compensatory damages for pain and suffering. It also requires Salon Zoe to expunge the employee’s personnel records of all references to this matter and her termination and, upon request, provide a written, neutral job reference.
The department filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in February 2015 after attempts to settle the matter voluntarily did not succeed.
“This worker’s experience was unwarranted and unnerving. She lost her job for simply exercising her legally protected right to voice concerns about health and safety in her workplace,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York. “Employers and employees should take note of this case and its outcome.”
“There’s a simple message here: Don’t fire, discriminate or retaliate against your employees when they raise legitimate health and safety issues; there will be consequences,” said Jeffrey S. Rogoff, the regional solicitor of labor in New York. “The department will pursue appropriate legal actions, including lawsuits, to ensure that workers’ rights are protected.”
To prevent future violations, the judgment prohibits the defendants from doing the following:
- Firing or discriminating against employees who file OSHA complaints
- Blacklisting, demoting, threatening, suspending, harassing, or intimidating employees who report workplace injuries and illnesses
- Advising employees against exercising their whistleblower rights, including contacting, speaking with, or cooperating with OSHA investigators
Additionally, the defendants must inform employees of their whistleblower rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Within 21 days, the defendants must allow a department representative to enter the salon during work hours to read to the employees and to Veljovic, who must be present, this statement of workplace whistleblower rights:
“You are protected by Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and have the right to complain to the US Department of Labor without fear of retaliation or intimidation. You have the right to complain to your co-workers, employer, or the Department of Labor about health or safety issues in your workplace. You have the right to speak freely with investigators or other officials from the Department of Labor.
“Your employer is prohibited from retaliating against you in any way, including by terminating you, disciplining you, inflicting physical harm on you, or threatening to do any of these things because you spoke with the Department of Labor. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a consent judgment that confirms that Salon Zoe and Kristina Veljovic may not retaliate against you in any way for complaining about health and safety issues in the workplace or for cooperating with the Department of Labor.
“If you believe that you have experienced retaliation, or if you want to complain about a health or safety concern in your workplace, you can contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Tarrytown Area Office at 914-524-7510.”
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime, and securities laws.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Cal/OSHA Cites Kaiser $149,900 for Exposing Employees to Infectious Disease
Cal/OSHA recently cited Kaiser Foundation Hospitals in Vallejo $149,900 for exposing workers to injury and infection from used needles at the hospital’s collection box for biomedical waste. At least three custodial employees have been stuck by needles while attempting to empty the deposit box, which frequently overflowed and prevented the lid from closing properly.
All three employees have been given prophylactic medication to prevent disease or unwanted consequences. The first injury occurred in 2013 and the other two this year.
“Cal/OSHA will always issue citations in cases where employers willfully disregard employee health and safety,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. “Kaiser should have had safety measures in place before employees were injured.”
Two of the violations issued to Kaiser are classified as willful serious, as evidence shows that the employer was aware that an unsafe or hazardous condition existed and made no reasonable effort to eliminate the condition. The hazardous conditions were corrected after Cal/OSHA’s inspection.
“Hospital workers are exposed to known hazards on a daily basis, and their employers have a responsibility to recognize these hazards and protect their employees,” said Christine Baker, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Cal/OSHA, officially known as the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, is a division of DIR.
Cal/OSHA’s American Canyon office opened the investigation in June after receiving a complaint. Kaiser members deposit their used needles through a hinged slot on the metal box, which resembles a postal mailbox. The needles fall into an inner plastic disposal box inside to contain biomedical waste. Employees transferred the contents into a larger disposal container for collection by Kaiser’s waste hauling contractor.
Cal/OSHA investigators learned that employees were instructed to clean the box using a broom and dustpan. When those tools proved inadequate, employees had to reach into the box to remove spilled waste, even though needles were often deposited without a protective cap.
Kaiser replaced the kiosk with two larger disposal units following Cal/OSHA’s inspection, and now requires they be monitored every 30 minutes.
Symrise Inc. Fined $122,000 for Exposing Workers to Respiratory Hazards
OSHA initiated an inspection on June 2, 2015, after being notified of an employee injury. Serious violations were cited for hazards related to confined space, including failure to evaluate the workplace to determine if any spaces were permit-required confined space and failure to develop and implement a written permit-required space program.
“When employees are exposed to certain airborne flavorings like diacetyl, they are more likely to develop respiratory symptoms such as cough, fatigue, and difficulty breathing with exertion or exercise,” said Patricia Jones, director of OSHA’s Avenel Area Office. “Symrise is putting its employees at risk of long-term, chronic illness by not taking the right steps to provide protection from this hazard. Employers have a legal obligation to ensure workers have a safe and healthy workplace, and will be held accountable when they fail to do so.”
Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning and General Contracting Inc. Fined $108,200 for Lack of Fall Protection
OSHA initiated a safety inspection on May 26, 2015, in response to a complaint alleging employees were working on a roof without fall protection. A second inspection began on October 19, 2015, when an OSHA compliance officer observed workers washing a roof without fall protection.
Ned Stevens was cited for these same violations in 2013 and 2014.
Proposed penalties total $108,200.
“Ned Stevens was previously cited for allowing employees to work on roofs without fall protection. This company has once again jeopardized worker safety by failing to provide the appropriate equipment to prevent injuries and save lives, which is intolerable,” said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. “The fall season is a busy time for gutter cleaning. It is crucial for Ned Stevens to acknowledge its responsibility to ensure a safe and healthful workplace, or be prepared to be held legally responsible for failing to do so.”
Midvale Paper Box Co. Inc. Fined $103,200 for Continuously Exposing Workers to Hazards
OSHA conducted a follow-up inspection on May 29, 2015, after Midvale failed to verify it had abated hazards found during a September 2014 inspection.
OSHA determined the employer did not correct previously cited safety violations, including a lack of machine guarding. This resulted in the failure-to-abate violations.
Exposing employees to electrical, fall, and crushing hazards, and the company’s failure to ensure operators were competent to drive powered industrial trucks were among the repeat violations.
The serious violations involved inadequate machine guarding; struck-by, electrical, and chemical hazards; defective powered industrial trucks in need of repair; and no written hazard communication program, among other safety issues.
$103,200
“Midvale Paper Box Co., Inc., failed to protect its employees by not providing safeguards, such as adequate machine guarding and measures to control hazardous energy, that are intended to prevent worker injury or even death,” said Mark Stelmack, director of OSHA’s Wilkes-Barre Area Office. “The penalties in the case reflect OSHA’s commitment to hold employers legally responsible for failing to comply with safety standards and protect employee safety and health.”
Don Bosco LLC Fined $103,000 for Exposing Workers to Falls
An OSHA inspector observed eight employees engaged in framing operations on a home under construction in Elgin. As the workers constructed rafters, they were not provided fall protection, such as guardrail systems, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems.
“Don Bosco has demonstrated a deliberate lack of concern for the safety of its employees by refusing to comply with fall protection standards,” said Jake Scott, OSHA’s area director in North Aurora.
OSHA found workers exposed to falls in excess of 17 feet when they were building scaffolds and 19 feet while constructing rafters. The agency also determined that the company did the following:
- Exposed workers to scaffold hazards
- Failed to train workers on fall hazards
- Neglected to provide hard hats
The agency has two additional inspections open with the company for similar violations observed in June 2015 and August 2015.
The page offers fact sheets, posters, and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in use when workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.
Worker Loses Both Legs After Seaford Ice Inc. Fails to Guard Machinery
The agency found that the employee fell into an unguarded conveyer opening while breaking ice, which resulted in the amputation of both of his legs below the knee.
The agency cited the willful violation for lack of machine guarding. Proposed penalties total $77,000.
This was the second time a worker suffered an amputation due to lack of machine guarding at the company’s Seaford plant. In 2012, an employee had a foot amputated after it touched a conveyor. OSHA determined that the conveyor openings were too large and its guard inadequate.
“Seaford Ice disregarded employee safety by not ensuring a proper guard on the conveyor belt, leading to a preventable amputation. This is unacceptable considering the company knew after the 2012 incident that the machine lacked safeguards to protect workers. Despite this warning, Seaford chose to expose workers to hazards, and a second employee was needlessly injured,” said Erin G. Patterson, OSHA’s area director in Wilmington. “When employers fail to provide a safe and healthful workplace, they will be held accountable.”
Hearthside Food Solutions LLC Repeatedly Exposes Workers to Hazards
A 41-year-old worker cleaning product waste from a factory floor suffered severe scalp injuries and multiple lacerations when a machine caught her hairnet, resulting in her hospitalization for four days.
OSHA has proposed penalties of $47,000 for the July 2015 injury.
“It is hard to imagine how frightened this worker must have been as the machine pulled her in by her hair. Three times this year, an employee of Hearthside Food Solutions suffered life-altering injuries because the company continues to fail to protect its workers,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “It is disheartening to cite an employer repeatedly for the same hazards.”
OSHA cited the company in April 2015 and September after workers had fingertips amputated in accidents at the plant.
The company settled the citations issued in April 2015 and has contested those issued in September.
Based in Downers Grove, Illinois, Hearthside Food Solutions is the food industry’s largest contract manufacturer of baked goods and bars. With 23 facilities in North America and Europe, the company employs approximately 6,000 workers, nearly 1,800 of them at the McComb plant.
Merit Construction Services Worker Injured in all at Milwaukee Parking Structure
OSHA initiated an inspection after Merit Construction reported that a worker fell about 9 feet through a hole onto a concrete floor on July 2, 2015. The company was doing repair work at a parking structure at 340 West Wells Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Inspectors found the company exposed workers to falls and other injuries because they failed to provide fall protection, and label and secure hole covers to prevent falls.
“This traumatic injury was easily preventable by using fall protection devices and carefully marking hazards in an active construction site,” said Chris Zortman, OSHA’s area director in Milwaukee. “Each year hundreds of workers are injured on the job because employers fail to follow basic safety precautions.”
Proposed penalties total $44,800.
Americraft Carton Inc. Exposes Workers to Multiple Safety Hazards
OSHA opened an inspection of the Norwalk plant after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions that exposed workers to amputation and other hazards.
The agency found the company failed to:
“Each year hundreds of workers are injured by the same hazards OSHA found in this packaging facility,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “Failing to install safety mechanisms on machines and equipment and train workers in safety procedures is unacceptable. Americraft Carton needs to make immediate improvements to ensure workers are protected on the job.”
Proposed penalties total $44,000.
Connecticut Manufacturer Unlawfully Discharged Employees for Filing OSHA Safety and Health Complaints
Two Eastern Awning Systems, Inc., employees filed safety and health and complaints with OSHA after they became ill while working in the plant’s powder coatroom in June 2009. While OSHA’s inspection was ongoing, the company and Lukos discharged the two employees.
The whistleblower investigation found that that the defendants unlawfully discharged the two employees because they filed the safety and health complaints with OSHA. Efforts to resolve the matter without resorting to adversarial litigation were unsuccessful.
Resolution Sought: The Department’s lawsuit is asking the court to find that the defendants wrongfully discharged the employees and order them to: pay the discharged employees’ lost wages plus interest, pay compensatory for emotional distress, pay punitive damages, be prohibited from future such violations, post a workplace notice informing employees of their rights, and pay the costs of the lawsuit.
“This is a case where an employer willfully exposed its employees to workplace hazards, then compounded its unacceptable behavior by retaliating against these workers for exercising their rights to a healthy work environment,” said Kim Stille, OSHA’s New England regional administrator.
“The law is clear and so is our message to employers: You cannot discriminate against employees for filing complaints with OSHA or voicing concerns about hazardous conditions in the workplace. When employers take retaliatory actions as the defendants did here, we will pursue strong and appropriate remedies, including through legal action if needed,” said Michael Felsen, the regional solicitor of labor for New England.
Eastern Awning Systems, Inc., manufactures retractable fabric patio awnings in a plant located at 843 Echo Lake Road in Watertown, Connecticut; Stephen P. Lukos is the company’s owner, president and director.
OSHA to Hold Facilitated Discussion on Updated Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines
The voluntary guidelines, first published in 1989 to help employers establish their own safety and health programs, are being updated to reflect modern technology and practices. New material should be particularly helpful to small- and medium-sized businesses, and it will address ways in which multiple employers at the same worksite can coordinate efforts to protect all workers.
The December 9 meeting, to be led by Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels, will be the first public discussion of the document and will feature an overview of changes made.
Additional stakeholder meetings will be scheduled for the future.
“Employers who embrace these guidelines will see fewer worker injuries and illnesses, and their progress in improving the safety culture at their worksites will contribute to higher productivity, reduced costs, and greater worker satisfaction.”
The guidelines are advisory only and do not create any new legal obligations or alter existing obligations created by OSHA standards or regulations.
Bend Company Earns Safety Recognition
Oregon OSHA has announced that Suterra, LLC, in Bend has received an award for completing its third year of involvement in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).
SHARP provides an incentive for Oregon employers to work with their employees to find and correct hazards, develop and implement effective safety and health programs, and continuously improve. The program aims to encourage employers to become self-sufficient in managing workplace safety and health issues. Currently, about 28 employer locations in Oregon participate in SHARP. That’s in addition to about 142 employers that have graduated from the program. An employer becomes a graduate when it completes five years of SHARP.
With 80 employees at the Bend facility, Suterra, LLC, is a leading provider of bio-rational products for crop protection and commercial pest control. Through international product sales, the company works to help growers reduce their use of traditional insecticides.
“SHARP is an outstanding program to bring world-class safety experts into our plant, to interact with our people, and highlight the gold standard of best practices to Suterra,” said Matthew Bohnert, president of Suterra LLC. “World-class safety is a non-negotiable goal for us. SHARP will help our employees ensure we are always the best we can be.”
Oregon employers that have been in business for more than one year are eligible to apply for SHARP regardless of size or type of business, although the program is primarily designed to help small and mid-size businesses.
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