DOL and OSHA

In this month's installment of our multi-part series "The DOL, Who Are They, What Can They Offer You?" we will be covering the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the DOL Division which oversees workplace safety & health conditions in most private industries or the approved state programs which also cover public sector employers. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (the Act), is the law that ensures employees have both work and a workplace free of recognized, serious hazards. Employers have the general duty to provide their employees with work and a workplace free from these recognized, serious hazards. OSHA enforces the Act through workplace inspections and investigations.

You'll find OSHA under Agencies on the DOL.gov website's homepage. OSHA's site is broken down into a series of tabs Workers Rights, Anti-Retaliation, Regulations, Employers, Data & Statistics, Enforcement, and Training. Within each of these tabs are the sub-tabs: Home, Workers, Regulations, Enforcement, Data & Statistics, Training, Publications, Newsroom, Small Business and Anti-Retaliation.

To find an OSHA standard you go to the Regulations tab and select one of these six topics: General Industry, Construction, Maritime, Agriculture, Recordkeeping, and State Plans. The appropriate Standard Number or Part of Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) is listed under each of the appropriate tabs.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) tab is found at the right, in the red top border. The FAQs tabs answers questions like what is OSHA, where can I find information on OSHA regulations, falls, requirements for an eyewash station, protective equipment, cranes, hazard communications, HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard) who is covered, inspections, general information, workers' rights, employer and record keeping, etc.

On the home page there is an Employers tab. Once on the page, Quick Links is to the far right and has a listing of quick links for employers. A to Z index, eTools, Frequently Asked Questions, Publications, Recordkeeping, Safety and Health Topics Pages, Small Business to name a few.

Two primary topics in OSHA are:

Within Quick Links is a tab for Recordkeeping. Within Recordkeeping you will find OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301. OSHA Recordkeeping regulations (29 CFR 1904) requires covered employers to prepare and maintain records of serious occupation injuries and illnesses, using OSHA form 300, 300A or 301. Form 300 is the Log used to detail the work-related injuries and illnesses. Form 300A is the Summary of all the work-related injuries and illnesses and Form 301 is the Incident Report used to document the work-related injury or illness.  

     Whistleblower Protection Program

The Whistleblower Protection Program can be found under the Anti-Retaliation tab. It enforces the whistleblower provisions of more than twenty whistleblower statutes protecting employees who report violations of various workplace safety, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, and securities laws. Rights afforded by these whistleblower acts include, but are not limited to, worker participation in safety and health activities, reporting a work related injury, illness or fatality, or reporting a violation of the statutes.

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Record Keeping Rule - UPDATED

OSHA recently revised its recordkeeping rule. The revised rule updates the list of industries that are exempt from the requirement to routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records. The new list of industries that are exempt is based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and 2007 - 2009 injury and illness data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Click here to access the updated list.

As of January 1, 2015, all employers, even employers who are exempt from routinely keeping OSHA injury and illness records due to company size or industry, must report:

• all work-related fatalities within 8 hours of finding out about them. Only fatalities occurring within 30 days of the work-related incident must be reported.
• all work-related inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and all losses of an eye within 24 hours. These incidents must be reported only if they occur within 24 hours of the work-related incident.

An amputation is defined as the traumatic loss of a limb or other external body part. Amputations include a part, such as a limb or appendage that has been severed, cut off, amputated (either completely or partially); fingertip amputations with or without bone loss; medical amputations resulting from irreparable damage; and amputations of body parts that have since been reattached.

Employers do not have to report:

• an event if it:

(i)         resulted from a motor vehicle accident on a public street or highway, unless it happened in a construction work zone;

(ii)       occurred on commercial or public transportation system (airplane, subway, bus, ferry, streetcar, light rail, train); or

(iii)      occurred more than 30 days after the work-related incident in the case of a fatality or more than 24 hours after he work-related incident in the case of an inpatient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.

• an inpatient hospitalization:

(i)             if it was for diagnostic testing or observation only; or

(ii)    due to a heart attack, if the heart attack resulted from a work-related incident.

You can report to OSHA by

1. Calling OSHA's free and confidential number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
2. Calling your closest Area Office during normal business hours.
3. Using the new online form that will soon be available.

When making a report of a fatality or severe injury, the following information is needed:

• Company Name,
• Location of the work related incident,
• Time of the work-related incident,
• Type of reportable event (i.e., fatality, inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye,)
• Number of employees who suffered the event,
• Names of the employees who suffered the event,
• Contact person's name and phone number, and
• Brief description of the work-related incident.

For more information about the updated reporting requirements, visit OSHA's webpage on the revised recordkeeping rule.

Note: Establishments located in states that operate their own safety and health programs (State Plan States) should check with their state plan for the implementation date of the new requirements. OSHA encourages these states to also implement the new coverage provisions on January 1, 2015.

Top Employer-Offered Holidays in 2015

Holidays come in all sizes, on nearly every calendar day of the year. The Society for Human Resources Management has assembled a list of the top holidays, both religious and federal, that employers expect to be closed for 2015 in order to allow their employees some time to enjoy themselves and their families.

Christmas Day

The only religious holiday to make the list, and 97% of employers say they expect to be closed December 25 in observance of the Christian holiday.

Thanksgiving Day

Turkeys, mashed potatoes, parades and football are some of the activities many people enjoy on this November holiday. Tied with Christmas, 97% of employers also say they will close their doors on this holiday.

New Year's Day

To ring in the New Year, and perhaps sleep off the night before, 95% of employers say they plan to let employees take the day off.

Labor Day

While not all employers plan to "unlabor" their employees, still an extreme majority, 95% of employers, will turn off the lights on this holiday.

Memorial Day

To herald in the summer, 94% of employers say they will shut things down to let employees have some time off.

Independence Day

In commemoration of adopting the Declaration of Independence and declaring liberation from Great Britain, 76% of employers (who say they are normally open on Saturdays) will be closed.

Day after Thanksgiving

Otherwise known as "Black Friday," shopping malls and stores will be flooded with people as 76% of employers say they will be closed the day after Thanksgiving.

Day before Independence Day

Getting to the nitty gritty, only 60% of employers planning say they plan to close office the day before Independence Day.