Washington — A recent audit from the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General found no correlation between safe mining operations and paid civil monetary penalties issued by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Washington — The Department of Labor has increased civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective Jan. 15.

Washington — “Good-faith efforts” by employers to comply with worker safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken into “strong consideration,” OSHA states in an April 16 memo to area offices and inspectors.

Washington — Two dozen Democratic senators have taken issue with the dollar amounts OSHA has chosen to levy against employers in its individual COVID-19-related fines.

Washington — OSHA has published an overview of its most common COVID-19-related citations – and a reminder of employer requirements.

Washington — The Department of Labor has published a final rule intended to help its agencies, including OSHA, improve their collection efforts for citation penalties and other debts.

Washington — The Department of Labor has increased civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective Jan. 15.

Itasca, IL — Fall Protection – General Requirements is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard for the 10th successive fiscal year, the agency announced Feb. 26 during an exclusive Safety+Health webinar.

Washington — OSHA received 15% more complaints during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic than it did during the same period in 2019 – but conducted 50% fewer inspections, according to a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General audit report released March 2.

Orlando, FL — For the 11th consecutive fiscal year, Fall Protection – General Requirements is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard, the agency and Safety+Health announced Oct. 12 during the 2021 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.

Washington — Legislation recently introduced by House and Senate Republicans would prohibit the federal government from imposing a fine, fee or tax on workers or employers who don’t comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Washington — OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other Department of Labor agencies have increased civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective Jan. 15.

Seattle — The owner of a West Seattle construction company has been sentenced to 45 days in jail for his role in a fatal trench collapse, according to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

Washington — The Department of Transportation has increased civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective March 21.

Washington — In an effort to enhance enforcement of and compliance with workplace safety standards, OSHA has expanded the criteria for placement in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program to include violations of all hazards and agency standards, OSHA announced Sept. 15.

Washington — The Department of Transportation has revised civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation.

Washington — The maximum penalty for a “willful” or “repeat” OSHA violation has increased to $156,259 after the agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and other Department of Labor agencies automatically increased civil penalty amounts to adjust for inflation.

Washington — The Department of Transportation has updated civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective Dec. 28.

Helsinki — A strong corporate culture is linked to many positive workplace safety attributes, a recent research review concludes.

Washington — Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission officials say a long-standing Executive Order that provides interpretation and document translation to people with limited English proficiency helps ensure federal services “reach and benefit all intended communities.”

Chattanooga, TN — Long-term work disability claims for musculoskeletal issues have climbed 40% overall and 62% among men since 2010, and are especially prevalent among workers in occupations that require heavy lifting, repetitive motion or prolonged sitting, a recent analysis from insurance company Unum shows.

Itasca, IL — In an effort to help employers and workers mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and develop techniques to prevent these injuries, the National Safety Council is teaming up with Amazon to establish new research, technology and processes as part of a five-year partnership to combat a leading cause of workplace injuries.

Washington — In a push to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders, the National Safety Council is calling on employers across all industries to sign a pledge to improve workplace safety, reduce MSD risk and enhance worker well-being.

Itasca, IL — The National Safety Council MSD Solutions Lab is partnering with Safetytech Accelerator to design, build and operate an open innovation lab with the goal of facilitating the development of next-generation technology aimed at preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Make plans now to attend the “MSD Pledge 2.0: Empowering Organizations to Transform Workplace Safety” virtual summit, set for 1 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 16.

Washington – Are you one of the thousands of men who grow facial hair – and awareness for men’s cancer – in November? If you are, and you wear a respirator at work, NIOSH has guidance for you.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency has released a draft of its revised respirator descriptions for pesticide labels and is seeking public comment.

Washington — Manufacturers of certain N95 respirators will be able to submit a single application to NIOSH, rather than to both the Food and Drug Administration and NIOSH, before marketing their product to the health care industry, according to an FDA final order published in the May 17 Federal Register.

Washington — OSHA has issued a final rule that adds two fit testing protocols to the agency’s respiratory protection standard (1910.134).

Washington — In an effort to preserve the supply of N95 filtering facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA has temporarily suspended its requirement for annual respirator fit testing in the health care industry.

Triangle, VA — Citing concerns over the adjacent nature of mining work and the growing prevalence of respiratory illness in the industry, the United Mine Workers of America is calling on the Mine Safety and Health Administration to issue an emergency standard to help safeguard mine workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — A new video is aimed at helping organizations – particularly those in health care – understand the qualitative fit testing process.

Bethesda, MD — Three methods to decontaminate N95 filtering facepiece respirators for reuse are being recommended by the National Institutes of Health after researchers at the agency successfully tested their effectiveness and the repeat functional integrity of the respirator after each sanitization.

Washington — OSHA recently released a poster and video that detail seven steps to properly put on and remove a respirator at work.

West Lafayette, IN — Researchers from Purdue University have developed new designs for N95 facemasks they say will extend the shelf life of the respiratory protection commonly used by health care workers.

Dallas — The OSHA Region 6 Training Institute Education Centers has developed a webinar on the proper implementation of a respiratory protection program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — OSHA has issued temporary enforcement guidelines for fit testing of powered air-purifying respirators for workers at high risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Tumwater, WA — A new e-tool from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is intended to help employers and workers choose the appropriate mask, facial covering or respirator based on the COVID-19 exposure risk level of specific job duties.

Washington — NIOSH has approved – for both personal protection and source control – the first elastomeric half-mask respirator without an exhalation valve.

Washington — Filtering facepiece respirators with an exhalation valve can be modified to reduce respiratory particle emissions – improving their effectiveness as a source control, according to a technical report recently published by the NIOSH National Personal Protective Laboratory.

Washington — Prompted by an “increased domestic supply” of NIOSH-approved respirators, the Food and Drug Administration has revoked its emergency use authorizations for non-NIOSH-approved disposable respirators as well as decontamination and bioburden reduction systems.

Washington — NIOSH has issued a pair of fact sheets on filtering facepiece respirators, detailing how to tell if an N95 is approved by the agency as well as procedures for fit testing and testing filtration efficiency.

Washington — Officials from OSHA and NIOSH joined stakeholders from industry and labor groups in a series of recent webinars to discuss a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report calling for separate respiratory protection frameworks for workers and the public.

Washington — NIOSH has selected 20 winning entries for the initial phase of its Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge.

Washington — NIOSH has chosen nine winners for the second phase of its Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge.

Infusion Direct Marketing Inc. announced it has recently launched a new website along with an expanded portfolio of marketing and technology services.

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars    

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars

Everything online in the industry, from white papers to webinars

Together with WORKTECH Academy, Brivo has created a model that enables a company to plot where it is on its journey to digital transformation and hybrid working.