UPDATE: OSHA Delays Enforcement Of New Rule By 1 Month

By, Robert Box

OSHA has announced it will be delaying enforcement of the employee involvement provisions of the record-keeping rule until December 1, 2016; one month later than originally planned due to a pending lawsuit.

Safety First Consulting obtained a copy of a U.S. Department of Labor memorandum from Deputy Assistant Secretary Dorothy Dougherty dated October 18, 2016, which communicates the delayed enforcement to OSHA Regional Administrators nationwide.

The new record-keeping rule includes three new worker involvement provisions that are currently being challenged (1904.35(b)(1)(i)-(iv)).  The provisions address employer conduct that could discourage workers from reporting work-related injuries and illnesses, which were set to become enforceable on November 1, 2016 and include:

• Reasonable procedures for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be implemented by the employer and must not deter or discourage reasonable workers from reporting work-related injuries or illnesses
• Workers notification by the employer of their right to report work-related injuries or illnesses free from retaliation, and
• Worker protection from retaliation for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses.

The memorandum says OSHA initially delayed enforcement of the new worker involvement provisions until November 1, 2016 “to allow time for additional outreach to the regulated community.” 

However, on October 14, 2016, the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas asked OSHA to further delay enforcement of this new rule through December 1, 2016 “to allow additional time to consider a motion pending before the court in a case challenging the new provisions, TEXO ABC/AGC Inc. v. Perez, No. 3:16-cv-01998-D (N.D.Tex).

The Department of Labor’s memorandum instructs OSHA to delay enforcement of the employee involvement provisions of the final rule until December 1, 2016. 

Safety First Consulting helps businesses identify OSHA compliance issues in their workplaces, manage their safety programs, and we become accountable for the results.  In addition to offering custom written safety programs for companies, Safety First Consulting provides required safety training, industrial hygiene sampling, noise sampling, and workplace inspections.