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OSHA to Issue Citations to Electronic Recording Non-Responders

As we previously reported, the compliance date for OSHA’s new electronic reporting rule for submission of the 300A forms was delayed until December 15, 2017. OSHA recently announced that over 214,000 300A forms were submitted electronically prior to closing the portal. However, this was significantly less than the 350,000 submissions that OSHA was expecting.
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Safety Sense

OSHA Hazard Communication Standard

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is based on a simple concept that employees have a right to know and understand the hazards of the chemicals they might be exposed to in the workplace. Unfortunately, many employers fall short when it comes to compliance with the HCS as evidenced by the fact that hazard communication is always toward the top of OSHA’s most cited violations every year.

The HCS requires information to be prepared and transmitted regarding all hazardous chemicals.
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Join the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent the #1 Cause of Deaths in Construction: Falls

Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees, accounting for 370 of the 991 construction fatalities recorded in 2016 (BLS data). Those deaths were preventable. From May 7-11, 2018, the National Safety Stand-Down raises fall hazard awareness across the country in an effort to stop fall fatalities and injuries.
A Safety Stand-Down is a voluntary event for employers to talk directly to employees about safety.
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Top 10 OSHA Citations of 2017

Above is a list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards following inspections of worksites by OSHA. Fall protection was the number one citation again, and we have previously examined the connection between fall hazards and fatalities in the workplace as well as the importance of building a safety culture in your workplace.
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February 1, 2018, Deadline to Post the OSHA 300A Form: Common Mistakes Employers Make

February 1st is the deadline to prepare, certify and post the OSHA 300A Annual Summary of workplace injuries and illness. The Form 300A is a summation of the workplace injuries and illnesses recorded on the OSHA 300 Logs during the previous calendar year, as well as the total hours worked the previous calendar year by all covered employees.
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OSHA Civil Penalties Increase Again

We previously reported on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) significant hike in OSHA penalties after a 26 year increase hiatus. The penalty increase, which was instituted according to Section 701 of the 2015 budget, also called for annual adjustments to the penalties based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. The DOL is required to adjust maximum OSHA penalties for inflation annually by the 15th of January.
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