Federal Agencies

Washington — OSHA moved three items off its list of long-term actions in the Department of Labor’s regulatory agenda for Spring 2020, but – as expected – a standard on infectious diseases wasn’t among them.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Agriculture “did not take adequate steps to determine whether the worker safety data it used … were reliable” when proposing a controversial rule that removes line speeds in pork-processing plants and transfers certain inspection responsibilities to plant workers, the USDA Office of Inspector General concludes in a report released June 25.

Washington — Seeking “uniformity” in the enforcement of its silica standards, OSHA has published an instructional directive for its compliance safety and health officers.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted to recently furloughed commercial motor vehicle drivers a 90-day waiver from certain preemployment drug testing requirements, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published guidance to help nail salon employers protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — L. Casey Chosewood pointed out the obvious reality every worker faces. “All of us are aging,” the director of the Office for Total Worker Health at NIOSH said during the agency’s June 10 webinar on the future of work and the implications for aging workers.

Washington — Methylene chloride poses “unreasonable risk” to workers under certain conditions, according to a final risk evaluation recently released by the Environmental Protection Agency, which now is compelled to propose within one year regulatory action to mitigate the chemical’s hazards.

Washington — Federal employees need more comprehensive guidance from the Office of Personnel Management before they return to the workplace amid the COVID-19 pandemic, House Democrats contended during a June 25 virtual hearing convened by the House Government Operations Subcommittee.

A single OSHA press release about fines levied against a company can have the same effect as 200-plus agency inspections when it comes to future compliance by the offending employer, as well as those nearby in the same industry, a Duke University researcher recently concluded.

Washington — The Chemical Safety Board has published a safety alert and video intended to help hazardous chemical facilities prepare for hurricanes and other extreme weather events.