Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released a document with answers to frequently asked questions about the agency’s recent final rule on coal dust.

Lansing, MI – The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has approved two alternatives for complying with its rules on scissor lifts.

Washington — OSHA’s proposed standard on protecting workers from excessive heat is undergoing a final review, according to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.

Washington — OSHA has released a draft of its proposed rule on heat illness prevention.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has extended the comment period for a proposed rule that would require underground coal mine operators to equip coal-hauling machines and scoops with proximity detection systems.

Washington — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is among five Senate Democrats who have expressed opposition to any rollback to the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s respirable coal dust rule, in a letter sent Dec. 22 to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is seeking input on a study of its respirable coal mine dust rule, as outlined in the 2014 regulation, according to a Request for Information published in the July 9 Federal Register.

Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is extending to July 2022 the deadline for comment on a Request for Information concerning a retrospective study of the agency’s respirable coal mine dust rule.

Lansing, MI — Service sector workers with irregular schedules often experience greater levels of stress and exhaustion, according to a recent report.

Chicago — If you’re unable to get more than six hours of sleep a night in the week before and after getting a vaccine, researchers say its effectiveness may be reduced – something shift workers should keep in mind.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s controversial final rule on its New Poultry Inspection System is set to be published and, in response to public comment, will not increase the maximum speed of processing lines.

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency once again has extended the comment period for a proposed rule that would create stronger standards for workers who handle “restricted use” pesticides.

Washington – OSHA will delay enforcing a new interpretation of its Process Safety Management Standard, prompting a bipartisan group of lawmakers to call for the agency to withdraw that interpretation.

Washington – OSHA failed to follow federal rulemaking requirements when it used a memorandum to announce a revised definition of retail facilities exempt from the Process Safety Management Standard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled.

The ITAR-free Neutrino SX8-ISR 35-700 model with 1280x1024 resolution combines Teledyne FLIR’s MWIR camera module and continuous zoom lens for integrators developing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.

Washington – Seeking to revamp its Voluntary Protection Programs, OSHA has scheduled a stakeholder meeting on July 17 at the Department of Labor’s Frances Perkins Building.

Washington — OSHA has extended until June 30 the deadline to comment on a proposed rule that would revise injury and illness recordkeeping rules.

Washington — OSHA’s changes to which workplaces are required to submit annual injury and illness data are undergoing final review, according to an Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs dashboard.

Washington — OSHA has finalized its revised rule on submitting annual injury and illness data.

Washington — Six states are dropping their lawsuit against OSHA after the agency finalized changes to its revised rule on submitting annual injury and illness data.

Under a new proposed rule, the FTC would ban employers from saddling workers with non-compete agreements that prohibit them from working at competitors. 

Washington – Five years after issuing an interim rule, OSHA has published a final rule regarding how to handle retaliation complaints from railroad workers and public transit workers who engage in whistleblower activities.

Washington – A new final rule from OSHA is aimed at improving protections for seamen who inform the government about violations of maritime safety laws or regulations.

Washington — OSHA is asking for public input on an interim final rule that governs the whistleblower protections provision of the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019.

Qumulex is a Fishers, Ind.-based provider of cloud-based video surveillance and access control solutions.

In a memo sent Oct. 11 to regional administrators and state designees, the agency outlines examples of acceptable drug testing, and states that incentive programs that withhold prizes because of an injury are compliant “as long as the employer has implemented precautions to ensure that employees feel free to report an injury or illness.”

Security professionals discuss recent changes to GSA Schedules.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a proposed rule intended to “reduce certain unnecessary regulatory burdens” that exist under the Production Systems Safety Rule “while correcting errors and clarifying current requirements,” according to a notice published in the Dec. 29 Federal Register.

Washington – Manufacturers of new transport airplanes must show proof that the aircraft can safely fly in freezing drizzle or freezing rain, under a final rule issued Nov. 4 by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Washington – A final rule regarding safety regulations for helicopter air ambulances will go into effect April 22, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced.

Washington — The Department of Transportation intends to seek comment on separate advance notices of proposed rulemaking on the safe operation and integration of drones, including a measure that would allow civilians to operate drones at night and over populated areas without a waiver, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced Jan. 14.

Washington — The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a proposed rule that would allow civilians to operate drones at night and over populated areas without a waiver, amending current regulations that prohibit such activities.

Washington — A final rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will regulate the transport of lithium-ion batteries shipped by air.

Washington – OSHA has announced it will issue a proposed rule to revise the agency’s standards on occupational exposure to crystalline silica.

Washington – OSHA’s current rule on silica is based on obsolete analytical data, and exposure at the current permissible exposure limit results in “significant risks of death” from cancer and other diseases, the agency said during a Jan. 14 webchat that discussed proposed updates to the rule.

Washington – A new final rule from OSHA expands the exemption for digger-derrick operations in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.

Washington – Stakeholders are invited to participate in an informal OSHA hearing on May 19 in Washington to discuss a proposal to extend the compliance date for crane operator certification requirements.

Washington – OSHA is delaying by three years its certification requirements for crane operators, the agency announced in a final rule published Sept. 25.

Washington — OSHA is moving to finalize changes to its crane operator certification requirements, according to a proposed rule published in the May 21 Federal Register.

Washington — OSHA is giving stakeholders until July 5 to comment on its proposed rule for crane operator certification requirements, the agency announced June 15.

Washington — As part of a settlement agreement, OSHA has issued a proposed rule that would grant exemptions to its Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard for work on or along railroad tracks.

Salem, OR — In response to “the extraordinary hazards that have been exacerbated by climate change,” Oregon OSHA has adopted a pair of emergency temporary rules that increase worker protections against wildfire smoke and high heat in employer-provided housing.

Washington — OSHA has warned Arizona, South Carolina and Utah to adopt their own version of the agency’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 for health care workers or face possible revocation of their State Plan status, according to multiple reports.

Sacramento, CA — Additional revisions to California’s emergency temporary standards on COVID-19 have been adopted by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, to include the California Department of Public Health’s latest recommendations for reducing the spread of the disease.

Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA is seeking public comment on proposed rules that would increase worker protections against extreme heat and wildfire smoke, calling them “the strongest such protections in the nation.”

Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA has adopted permanent rules intended to safeguard workers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, calling them “the most protective of their kind in the United States.”

Salem, OR — Oregon OSHA is encouraging all employers and workers in the state to recognize their “successes in cultivating safe and healthy workplaces” during the agency’s 21st annual Safety Break for Oregon.

Hunt Valley, MD — Maryland is the latest state to adopt a standard on heat illness prevention.

Washington – Pipeline operators may be required to notify the National Response Center no later than one hour after an incident involving natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines, under a recently proposed rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

OSHA’s rulemaking process has several steps, but not everyone agrees all the steps are needed. With some agency rules taking decades to promulgate, a few OSHA-watchers have suggested ways to speed up the process.