Arlington, VA — Responding to public request, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has reopened, until Feb. 11, the comment period on a proposed rule that would require mine operators employing at least six miners to establish a written safety program for mobile and powered haulage equipment.

London — Although many employees “clearly benefited from the increased flexibility and other benefits” provided by remote work arrangements amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many others “found it to be challenging, with poor work-life balance and the inability to connect socially with colleagues,” according to a new research report from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.

Washington — A new video from OSHA commemorates the significant accomplishments and events that have transformed workplace safety and health during the agency’s 50-year history.

Would you like to share your safety expertise with others? The National Safety Council is looking for presenters for its 2022 NSC Safety Congress & Expo, scheduled for Sept. 16-22 in San Diego.

Washington — Who gets to decide how to protect workers against COVID-19? That was one of the central questions posed by opponents of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 vaccination, testing and masking during a Jan. 7 hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Washington — Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) has joined 114 other members of Congress in calling on OSHA to issue a permanent standard on COVID-19 focused on health care workers.

Washington — Legislation recently introduced in the House and Senate is aimed at improving working conditions and whistleblower protections in the meat and poultry processing industry.

Washington — OSHA is reminding employers to submit their 2021 Form 300A by March 2.

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency is requesting public comment on a draft Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 systematic review protocol intended to “strengthen EPA’s approach to reviewing and selecting the scientific studies that are used to inform TSCA chemical risk evaluations.”

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, in collaboration with OSHA, will allow select pork-processing facilities – on a trial basis – to operate at increased line speeds for up to one year while gathering data that “measures the impact of line speed on workers.”