ABC is reminding its contractor member firms that their 2017 Occupational Safety and Health Administration Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries must be posted in a visible spot on all construction sites Feb. 1 through April 30.

Effective Jan. 2, the U.S. Department of Labor increased civil monetary penalties for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and regulations. According to the OSHA website, the maximum penalty for other-than-serious, serious and failure to abate violations is now $12,934, and the maximum penalty for willful or repeat violations is $129,336.

On Dec. 19, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued several fact sheets that provide guidance on the respirable crystalline silica standard for construction. The fact sheets include an overview of the silica standard as well as provide information to help employers comply. 

On Dec. 18, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in a press release that they will continue accepting 2016 OSHA Form 300A data through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) until midnight on Dec. 31, 2017. OSHA will not take enforcement action against those employers who submit their reports after the Dec. 15, 2017 deadline but before Dec. 31, 2017 final entry date. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the ITA will no longer accept the 2016 data.

Under the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule (also known as Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses) certain employers are required to electronically submit the information from their completed 2016 Form 300A by Dec. 15. Information on electronic reporting is available on the DOL's website.

On Nov. 9, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule, Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Certification Extension, which delays its deadline for employers to ensure that crane operators are certified by one year, from Nov. 10, 2017, to Nov. 10, 2018. OSHA is also delaying its employer duty to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely for the same one-year period.

On Oct. 27, President Trump nominated Scott Mugno for Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S. Department of Labor. Mugno currently serves as the vice president for safety, sustainability and vehicle maintenance at FedEx Ground and previously worked as managing director of FedEx Express corporate safety, health and fire protection.

On Oct. 19, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Galassi issued a memorandum on Interim Enforcement Guidance for the Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction Standard. The memo provides interim enforcement guidance to Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) for enforcing the standard.

Enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) silica standard as it applies to the construction industry will begin on Sept. 23. On Sept. 20, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Galassi issued a memorandum on enforcement policy for the construction industry. 

Enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s silica standard as it applies to the construction industry will begin on Sept. 23. The silica rule lowers the permissible exposure limit from the current standard of 250 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight-hour day, and an action level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air. In addition, the final rule requires contractors to follow several ancillary provisions, such as housekeeping and written exposure plans.