News

 On September 16th OSHA released a statement that they had cited a Massachusetts based dental practice for an inadequate respiratory protection program related to the current coronavirus pandemic and other shortcomings. In total, OSHA cited six serious and one other-than-serious violations for a penalty of $9,500. The dental office has since corrected the violations and paid the fine in full. Specifically, the COVID related violations were failing to provide a medical evaluation and fit testing for employees required to wear N-95 respirators and the absence of written policy for respiratory protection. The practice was also cited for deficient bloodborne pathogen exposure control and hazard communication policies,...

 OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogen Standard was created to protect workers occupationally exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). This means any employee that might come into contact with infectious materials as a result of their job. Employers obligations are defined in the standard and the key components are highlighted in OSHA's Fact Sheet. We wanted to take this a step further and break down each bulleted point in more detail. Establish an exposure control plan. This is a written plan to eliminate or minimize occupational exposures.The employer must prepare an exposure determination that contains a list of job classifications in...

OSHA issued updated interim guidance to their inspectors for enforcing the requirements of 29 CFR 1904 with respect to the recording of occupational exposure to COVID-19. These new guidelines will be enforced as of May 26, 2020 and remain in effect until further notice.  Employers should be taking action to determine whether employee COVID-19 illnesses are work-related and deemed recordable. Given the nature of the disease and ubiquity of community spread, it can be difficult to determine whether a COVID-19 illness is work-related, especially when an employee has potential exposure both in and out of the workplace. In light of these considerations, OSHA is exercising its...

 The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued interim guidance to advise compliance safety and health officers to evaluate an employer’s good faith efforts to comply with safety and health standards during the coronavirus pandemic. Current infection control practices may limit the availability of employees, consultants or contractors who normally provide training, auditing, equipment inspections, testing, and other essential safety and industrial hygiene services. Business closures and other restrictions may also preclude employee participation in training if trainers are unavailable and access to medical testing facilities may be limited or suspended. During an inspection, compliance safety and...

Earlier this week the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) increased it's fines for non-compliance starting on January 15, 2020. This latest increase now raises the maximum penalty for violations considered serious, other-than-serious and posting violations to $13,494 per incident. Willful violations or violations in which the employer intentionally failed to follow an OSHA standard or showed a lack of concern regarding employee safety, now have a minimum fine of $9,639 with the maximum capped at $134,937. OSHA fines have soared since congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment and Improvements Act in November of 2015. Maximum fines in 2015 were limited to $7,000 per incident, fast-forward...