Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

OSHA Expands Catastrophe Reporting

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Oct 06, 2014

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has long required all employers to report work-related accidents that result in three or more deaths or serious injuries (what OSHA calls "catastrophes"). On September 18 OSHA published changes to these requirements that expand employers’ reporting requirements effective January 1, 2015 (I blogged about OSHA’s proposal here).

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS

OSHA: Protecting Workers From Workplace Air Contaminants

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Sep 29, 2014

OSHA regulates workplace air contaminants to protect employees from exposures to airborne chemical and particulate contaminants in workplace air. Generally, employee exposures are limited by permissible exposure limits (PEL) based on a time-weighted average (TWA) over an 8-hour workday. OSHA also allows exposure to some contaminants at greater “excursion limits” for short periods of time, subject to “ceiling values.” Many of these limits are based on voluntary standards developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, Hazcom

Managing Confined Space—Ensuring Worker Safety in Unusual Circumstances

Posted by Melanie Powers on Wed, Sep 03, 2014

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Tags: Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights, Training, Environmental risks, EHS, Webinar

Production Company Cited for Safety Violations Causing Worker Injury and Fatality

Posted by STP Editorial Team on Tue, Sep 02, 2014

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights

Are You Up-To-Date On Employees’ Leaves Of Absence?

Posted by Allison Campbell on Wed, Aug 27, 2014

Warm summer weather means increased holiday bookings, employees less inclined to stay late, and in some cases, lowered staffing levels. But an empty chair may not mean the employee is out just enjoying the sunshine; they may be taking any one of a number of leaves of absences.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Employee Rights, Canadian

New Executive Order Pursues Labor Law Compliance By Federal Contractors

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 19, 2014

On July 31, President Obama issued Executive Order (EO) Number 13673, establishing a series of reporting and procedural requirements for federal contractors, inducing them to provide “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” to their employees. Beginning in 2016, these new requirements will apply to contracts and subcontracts to provide more than $500,000 in services and/or non-standard goods to federal agencies. Some requirements are specific in the EO, while others will become clearer after revisions to the contracting standards codified as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, Employee Rights, Training, Environmental risks, EHS, EEOC, Disability benefits

Anti-Discrimination Responsibilities Expanded By New Executive Order

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Aug 13, 2014

On July 21, President Obama issued Executive Order (EO) Number 13672, expanding anti-discrimination responsibilities of federal agencies, federal contractors, and federal grant recipients, to cover “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Once implemented, employment practices in these workplaces will match private employers’ responsibilities under a growing number of state laws, and under some federal court cases interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). These changes are potentially very important to large numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Employee Rights

Mount Polley Dam Breach: KSM Mine Opponents Renew Fight

Posted by Mark Sabourin on Mon, Aug 11, 2014

Taken from Ecolog News with permission August 8, 2014

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, Hazcom, effluent, Canadian

Employment Law: Protecting Temporary Workers

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 05, 2014

Is your employer hiring "temp" workers this summer—to serve tourists, meet cascading production deadlines, tend crops, or maybe just to fill in while permanent workers take vacations? Most employers recognize that occupational safety and health laws throughout North America assign them an Employer's General Duty to protect their own employees from workplace hazards. Some don’t remember that this duty also applies to shared employees, and even to other employers’ employees while they’re at your workplace. This month, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is re-emphasizing ongoing efforts to ensure protections for temporary workers ("temps"), extending the Temporary Worker Initiative it started in 2013.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Health & Safety, OSHA, Employee Rights, Training

EEOC Issues New Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Jul 23, 2014

One of the many national anti-discrimination laws administered by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA). PDA prohibits discrimination against women on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.” EEOC receives about 6,000 complaints alleging this form of sex discrimination each year, which amounts to 6-7% of all complaints it receives. Last month EEOC issued its first stand-alone Enforcement Guidance for its staff to address PDA and related issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), superseding discussions in the agency’s general Compliance Manual.

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Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Employer Best Practices, Employee Rights, EEOC