On Oct. 11, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a memorandum clarifying its position on workplace safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing included in the 2016 final rule, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses (also known as the Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule), issued under the Obama administration.  

Start your journey to world-class safety today with ABC’s Safety Training Evaluation Process. STEP is a safety benchmarking and improvement tool that dramatically improves safety performance among construction industry participants, regardless of company size or type of work. Every ABC member wants to send its workers home safely every night. 

On Sept. 28, ABC submitted comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on its recent proposal to remove certain provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule, officially titled Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. ABC also commented as a member of the Coalition for Workplace Safety.

With Hurricane Florence approaching the East Coast, OSHA is reminding contractors of resources to help keep construction workers safe during natural disasters. Hurricane season peaks in September, and wildfires are still burning throughout the Pacific Northwest and from California to Colorado. OSHA urges employers to be prepared to keep their workers safe during extreme weather events. The agency’s Emergency Preparedness and Response webpage provides information on protecting workers before and after hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters strike. 

On Aug. 13, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 53 Frequently Asked Questions to provide further guidance to employers and employees regarding OSHA’s respirable crystalline silica standard for construction. Through the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, ABC was involved in the formulation of these FAQs.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently revised its Law and Regulations webpage to offer users easier navigation through OSHA standards and rulemaking. The updated webpage features more user-friendly settings, including information buttons that explain regulatory language that may be unfamiliar to some users, a list of key resources and the latest updates on active rulemaking.

On July 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking titled Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. According to OSHA, the proposal seeks to better protect personally identifiable information or data that could be re-identified with a particular individual by removing provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule.

Today, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent out a release reminding certain employers that the deadline for submitting their 2017 Form 300A data through OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application is July 1. Learn which establishments are covered by this requirement and need to provide their 2017 Form 300A data through OSHA’s ITA.

On June 15, OSHA announced that it will extend the comment period on its proposal to ensure crane operators are qualified to safely operate equipment by an additional 15 days. Comments will now be accepted through July 5, 2018.

In testimony before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Kwest Group President and Chairman of the ABC National Safety and Health Committee Ryan Odendahl called for a collaborative effort between industry and the federal government to increase workplace safety and promote economic opportunity in the United States.