Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

OSHA revises penalty and debt collection policies

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Aug 19, 2025

The US federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised portions of its national enforcement policies, reducing penalties for employers that take prompt action to correct identified violations, and raising the ceiling for special small business penalty reductions from employers with 10 or fewer employees to those with 25 or fewer employees. These revisions appear in Chapter 6 (Penalties and Debt Collection) of OSHA’s Field Operations Manual (FOM). The remainder of this note discusses these revisions. 

Read More

Tags: OSHA, Occupational Health, Worker Safety, Workplace Safety Guidelines, Safety Standards, Occupational Safety, Field Operations Manual, FOM

Administration proposes zero budget for Chemical Safety Board

Posted by Jon Elliott on Fri, Aug 08, 2025

Many of the Trump administration’s recent budget requests have proposed reduction in funding for environmental, health and safety (EH&S) agencies (For example I wrote about the environmental Protection Agency (HERE and Occupational Safety and Health Administration HERE ). Most drastically, the administration has proposed ZERO funding for the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board – which usually refers to itself as the Chemical Safety Board or CSB. CSB conducts independent investigations of major chemical accidents, issues accident-specific findings, offers specific or general recommendations for improved chemical handling and regulation, and has enacted a “Chemical Incident Reporting Rule.” (I wrote about the Rule HERE, and compliance guidance HERE). The remainder of this note summarizes CSB’s latest guidance. 

Read More

Tags: OSHA, Environmental, EHS, EPA, CSB, Chemical Safety Board, Trump Administration, EHS Compliance, Incident Reporting, Accidental Release Prevention, Process Safety Management, chemical incident investigations

Trump Administration proposes limited cuts in OSHA budget

Posted by Jon Elliott on Fri, Jul 18, 2025

On May 2, the Trump Administration issued its budget proposal for federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026). The administration proposes a $582,381,000 budget for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which would be a  7.9% ($49,928,000) decrease from OSHA’s adopted 2025 budget of $632.3 million (the Biden Administration had proposed $655.5 million; I wrote about it HERE). The remainder of this note summarizes the Administration proposal. 

Read More

Tags: OSHA, workplace safety, Trump, Trump Administration, Workplace Safety Guidelines, Regulatory Compliance, Safety Standards, FY 2026 Budget, Federal Budget Proposal, Occupational Safety

OSHA reports on most-cited violations in fiscal year 2024

Posted by Jon Elliott on Thu, Jun 26, 2025

The US federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reported a list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA for all industries, during federal Fiscal Year (FY 2024). The remainder of this note provides OSHA’s list, with links to the standards (i.e., general industry standards) I’ve written about in other notes.

Read More

Tags: OSHA, Safety and Health at Work, EHSCompliance, Safety Regulations, Worker Safety, Regulatory Compliance, Health and Safety, Fall Prevention, Safety Training

OSHA emphasizes fall prevention

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, May 28, 2025

The US federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted its twelfth annual “National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction” during May 5-9, 2025. The Stand-Down focused on fall hazards and fall prevention, emphasizing safety demonstrations, trainings and hazard recognition activities. Falls are a leading cause of workplace injuries and deaths in construction, and can also be important hazards in non-construction locations where workers use ladders or work in elevated locations. The remainder of this note summarizes approaches to fall hazards and fall protection. 

Read More

Tags: Health & Safety, OSHA, Safety and Health at Work, workplace safety, Cal/OSHA, Injury, Safety Regulations, Worker Safety, Risk Management, Fall Prevention

Department of Labor reports fewer occupational injuries, illnesses, and deaths last year

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Mar 26, 2025

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) compiles data about occupational injuries and illnesses (I&I), and issues annual reports about occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities. BLS cooperates with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements that employers record occupational I&I as they occur, and compile annual I&I logs to inform workers and regulators of overall rates.  BLS issued its report for calendar year 2023 in December 2024, highlighting causes and distributions of workplace deaths, and noting that they were lower than in 2022. The rest of this note summarizes how these occupational incidents are reported and counted. 

Read More

Tags: Health & Safety, OSHA, EHS, Safety and Health at Work, Injury, Health and Safety Compliance, Workplace Safety Guidelines, Risk Management

New Hampshire becomes latest state to require employers to allow guns at work

Posted by Jon Elliott on Fri, Mar 07, 2025

One important issue for employers to consider in their workplace safety and workplace violence prevention efforts is whether to allow employees to bring weapons to work, and if so whether to place limitations on their storage or handling – locked in an employee’s vehicle, for example. Many employers prohibit weapons on workplace premises, including the US Postal Service via its regulations (39 CFR 232.1.) In recent years, however, increasing numbers of states restrict or even prohibit employers from limiting employee weapons, at least in parked vehicles. Most recently, on January 1, 2025 New Hampshire became the latest state to block employer restrictions. 

Read More

Tags: OSHA, Workplace violence, Compliance Safety, workplace safety, Gun Laws

Federal Agencies Adjust Civil Penalty Levels for Inflation

Posted by Jon Elliott on Wed, Feb 12, 2025

Many regulatory laws provide for civil – and sometimes even criminal – penalties for noncompliance. Statutes set penalty levels (“XXX dollars per day of violation” for example), at levels intended to provide meaningful deterrence and punishment for noncompliance. But over time, these penalties' stings decline with inflation. To counteract the possibility that less painful penalties reduce incentives for compliance, U.S. law directs most federal agencies to make annual “cost of living” adjustments to the maximum statutory civil penalty levels (there are no provisions for standing periodic adjustments to criminal penalties). 

Read More

Tags: OSHA, EPA, regulatory registers, RegulatoryUpdates, EnviromentalCompliance, EHSCompliance

Maryland creates heat stress rules for indoor and outdoor work

Posted by Jon Elliott on Mon, Dec 23, 2024

Working in excessive heat can cause illness, whether outdoors (this summer again brought record-breaking heat to parts of North America), or indoors where equipment, combustion or other factors raise ambient working temperatures. Occupational safety and health agencies have slowly been expanding explicit requirements that employers protect their workers against heat stress. Most recently, the Maryland Department of Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) adopted Heat Stress Standards effective September 30, 2024 (COMAR 09.12.32).

Read More

Tags: OSHA, Heat, Maryland heat stress standards, MOSH heat regulations, Workplace heat protection, Heat index compliance, Occupational safety and heat illness, Heat stress prevention plan, High-heat procedures, OSHA proposed heat standards

Managing radon infiltration

Posted by Jon Elliott on Tue, Dec 03, 2024

Radon gas is released naturally by radioactive decay within rock formations, from where it can percolate to the surface and infiltrate basement and trenching, and then produce hazardous concentrations if trapped or spread throughout the structure by the ventilation system. Because of its radioactive origin, radon can pose health risks – it’s the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers extensive information programs, which encourage in-building testing (especially in housing), and provides guidance for hazard reduction. EPA’s authority derives primarily from the Indoor Radon Abatement Act of 1988 (codified as Title III of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)). In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers radon a type of ionizing radiation subject to worker protection requirements. The remainder of this note provides background to radon hazards and their management, referencing information from EPA, OSHA and other agencies and professional organizations. 

Read More

Tags: OSHA, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, workplace safety, Environment, Environmental Policy, Hazardous Chemicals