S+H Staff

Chicago – OSHA is pursuing court action to require a contractor with a history of recent OSHA violations to take corrective steps, such as annual employee safety training.

Washington – Airports reported a record-high number of incidents of lasers being pointed at airplanes and disrupting pilots last year, according to statistics released Jan. 19 by the Department of Transportation.

Washington – Registration is open for the Federal Transit Administration's 6th Annual Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference, the Department of Transportation announced Jan. 18.

Arlington, VA – Faulty equipment and coal dust likely caused a small methane ignition to turn into a massive explosion that killed 29 miners at Upper Big Branch Mine-South in April, according to preliminary investigation results from MSHA.

Tumwater, WA – More than $137 million was collected last year by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries' workers’ compensation fraud program, according to a new report.

Washington – Judge Covette Rooney, a 15-year judiciary veteran of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, was designated as its new acting chief administrative law judge.

Washington – OSHA administrator David Michaels lashed out at his agency’s critics by stressing OSHA is committed to providing employers with information to keep their workers safe.

Washington – Public hearings and the release of documents related to the April 5 Upper Big Branch Mine-South tragedy will be postponed in deference to the Department of Justice, Solicitor of Labor M. Patricia Smith recently said.

Washington – OSHA's internal review of its whistleblower program is confusing and fails to address complaints about the program, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Arlington, VA – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration "misapplied its own crash numbers" to elevate driver fatigue as a cause of commercial motor vehicle crashes and rationalize its proposed rule on driver hours of service, the American Trucking Associations alleges.