Federal Agencies

Washington — As “nonessential” businesses across the country get ready to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, OSHA is offering guidance on protecting returning workers.

Washington — Responding to the “significant increase” in worker and whistleblower complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with completing inspections and investigations – all in a timely manner – are among the challenges facing OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Washington — One year after the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement launched its free BSEE!Safe text message alert system, the agency says more than 6,200 subscribers have received links to BSEE safety alerts and bulletins covering offshore oil and gas work on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Washington — A new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers should take to protect stockroom and loading dock workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — The first report to use data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse shows that, from the database’s Sept. 28 launch through May, marijuana was the most common substance found in positive drug and alcohol tests among commercial motor vehicle drivers.

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a series of fact sheets for airport, airline and transit employers to help protect their workers from exposure to COVID-19.

Washington — The United Mine Workers of America and the United Steelworkers are suing the Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in an effort to compel MSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Washington — Washing foods with bleach, applying household cleaning or disinfectant products to the hands or skin, and intentionally inhaling or ingesting these products are among the “non-recommended, high-risk practices” nearly 2 out of 5 U.S. adults say they have tried to prevent contracting COVID-19, results of a recent survey indicate.

Cincinnati — Former OSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor Eula Bingham died June 13, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine announced on its Twitter account. She was 90.

Washington — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 11 rejected an AFL-CIO lawsuit calling on the Department of Labor and OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious diseases amid the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.