OSHA issued a notice in January that it would extend the effective date of its Outdoor and Indoor Heat-related Hazards National Emphasis Program (NEP) until April 8, 2026. Originally, this NEP was set to expire on April 8, 2025. OSHA states its review of this NEP shows success in identifying and targeting industries with employee...
On April 17, 2025, OSHA released its 2024 workplace injury and illness data that was collected from its Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The data came from 370,000 reports submitted on the OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. In addition, OSHA has posted partial data from more than 732,000 OSHA Forms 300 Log...
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) has amended its fall protection standards in residential construction and roofing. The amendments include making the fall protection height standard 6 feet instead of 15 feet, making it more uniform to align with federal OSHA standards, and removing the term “impractical” and replacing it with “infeasible” within certain fall protection requirements. This...
On Feb. 3, 2025, most of the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (Cal/OSHA) nonemergency COVID-19 prevention regulations (the rules) expire. These regulations were adopted to reduce employee exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19, thereby reducing workplace COVID-19 illness and transmission. The COVID-19 recordkeeping requirement will remain in effect until Feb. 3, 2026. Even...
The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released information from its National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2023. Overall, there were 5,283 fatal work injuries in the United States, with a fatal work injury rate of 3.5 fatalities per 100,00 full-time equivalent workers. The data also showed that the construction industry...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers subject to its recordkeeping requirements to post copies of their OSHA Form 300A between Feb. 1 and April 30 of each year. The OSHA Form 300A, also known as the “Summary of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses,” must be completed by Feb. 1 using data from the...
Most new bills in California become effective on Jan. 1 of the following year once approved by the state Legislature and the state governor (though some exceptions are possible for emergency measures and when the bills specifically appoint a different effective date). This Legal Update provides an overview of labor and employment laws California adopted...
OSHA recently revealed its top 10 most frequently cited standards in the 2024 fiscal year using preliminary data. This information is valuable for businesses of all kinds, as it helps them identify common exposures that affect their workforce and gives them the information they need to plan their compliance programs. For 2024, the top 10...
OSHA recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register regarding heat injury and illness prevention. If finalized, the new standard would apply to all employers conducting indoor and outdoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime and agricultural sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, subject to limited exceptions. It would also be the...