Page 45 - MetalForming August 2015

You and The Law
By Douglas B.M. Ehlke
OSHA’s New Enforcement Procedures
On December 24, 2014, OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Pro- grams issued a 20-plus-page memorandum outlining its interim enforcement procedures for new reporting requirements under 29 CFR 1904.39. You may be asking yourself what this means. You also may be won- dering whether this was an early holi- day present for employers or a lump of coal left in companies’ stockings. While it seems certain that employers will have their hands full dealing with a host of new requests from OSHA for information as well as an almost-cer- tain increase in inspections, the mem- orandum provides valuable insight into the questions employers likely will be asked and the criteria the agency will consider when deciding whether to visit a facility after an accident.
What are the new reporting require- ments set forth in 29 CFR 1904.39? In case you missed it, OSHA now (effective January 1, 2015) requires employers to report the hospitalization of one or more employees (it used to be three), amputations, and/or the loss of an eye in addition to fatalities, which you have always had to report. Anticipating a significant surge in the number of reported incidents, OSHA is rolling out new procedures to provide field guid- ance on when to launch investigations.
Doug Ehlke, a national board-certified civil trial lawyer, has for more than 30 years represented metalforming companies in OSHA litigation and in labor-union elections. His law practice emphasizes labor law, personal injury, product liability, probate, estate planning and envi-
ronmental and employment discrimination law.
Ehlke Law Offices
28840 11th Avenue South, Federal Way, WA 98003-3705 tel. 253/839-5555
fax. 253/874-5475
dehlke@ehlkelawoffices.com
Notably, this memorandum is not posted to OSHA’s website, a departure from past practice which saw the agency publicize and post similar initiatives.
When making your initial report to OSHA in response to a triggering event, you will be expected to provide the fol- lowing information: the establishment name; the location of the incident; the time of the incident; the type of inci- dent (fatality, hospitalization, ampu- tation or loss of an eye); the number of employees who were so injured or hos- pitalized; their names; a contact person for the employer; and a description of the incident. Employers can report matters in person, over the phone or online. Keep in mind that you are writ- ing and submitting your own words if you opt for the online reporting mech- anism—many employers prefer to make an oral report.
Found at the end of the memoran- dum are a number of appendices, including a scripted questionnaire to be used when speaking with employers
who make oral reports. Among the questions such employers likely will be asked are the age of the injured indi- vidual and whether he was your employee or a contract worker. If you have been paying attention to recent OSHA developments you know that the agency recently launched an initiative intended to protect temporary workers, it being the agency’s experience that such individuals often are injured short- ly after being assigned to a new work- site, sometimes due to a lack of training. You likely will be asked the age of the employee, because an injury to an employee of a certain age or younger will result in a mandatory inspection. This brings us to the three categories into which all reports will be placed.
Category 1 reports are incidents that must be inspected. They include all fatal- ities and reports of two or more inpatient hospitalizations; any injury involving an employee younger than 18 years old; incidents involving an employer with a known history of multiple injuries;
RESISTANCE WELDING ONE-SPOT-SHOP
d &
Supplies • 24/7 Service • Process Training • Repairs • Control Upgrades • Water Chillers
Resistance Welding M
&
•
&
a
c
ch
hi
in
e
r
y
y•
• S
t
•
STANDARD & SPECIAL DESIGN RESISTANCE WELDERS
ta
an
d
a
ar
d
S
Sp
pe
ec
i
ia
al
l D
e
es
s
i
g
n
N
e
w
U
s
e
d
P
a
r
t
s
DIVERSE CONSUMABLES INVENTORY
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/August 2015 43
Helping customers succeed with resistance welding for 50 years
www.tjsnow.com | 1-800-NOW-SNOW | welders@tjsnow.com