OSHA schedules more 'I2P2' stakeholder meetings

OSHA will host two additional stakeholder meetings to help develop a proposed rule for Injury and Illness Prevention Programs -- referred to as "I2P2."

The meetings are scheduled for July 20 in Washington and Aug. 3 in Sacramento, CA. The purpose of the meetings is to gather information to develop and implement a plan for employers that proactively identifies and corrects workplace hazards, the agency said. Meetings previously were hosted in Texas and New Jersey, and another is scheduled for next week in Washington.

OSHA is asking stakeholders for their thoughts on the proposed regulation, which agency administrator David Michaels called a "commonsense rule" that places the impetus for protecting workers and reducing hazards on the employer.

"Instead of waiting for an OSHA inspection or a workplace tragedy to address workplace hazards, employers would be required to create a plan for identifying and remediating hazards, and then implement this plan," Michaels said in a speech earlier this month at the American Society of Safety Engineers' Safety 2010 Professional Development Conference and Exposition in Baltimore.