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.
Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog
Tags: Health & Safety, OSHA, Safety and Health at Work, workplace safety, Cal/OSHA, Injury, Safety Regulations, Worker Safety, Risk Management, Fall Prevention
SEC ends legal defense of climate-related disclosure requirements for public companies
Posted by Jon Elliott on Thu, May 15, 2025
On March 27, 2025 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to stop defending rules adopted in 2024 (during the Biden administration) that would have required selected “public companies” (i.e, listed on national securities exchanges) to provide “climate-related disclosures for investors” in their registration statements and annual reports. SEC had stayed these rules’ effectiveness after being sued by two energy companies, which were later joined by other plaintiffs as well as state and nonprofit supporters of the rules. The latest SEC decision ends the agency’s defense in that litigation.
Read MoreTags: SEC, Environmental Policy, Climate, ESG, Environmental Compliance, Risk Management, Sustainability Reporting, Climate Disclosure, Climate Risk
Coming to North America? EU proposes to narrow Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requirements
Posted by Jon Elliott on Thu, Apr 10, 2025
On February 26, the European Union’s (EU’s) European Commission issued its “Omnibus I” proposal to “recalibrate” the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), by reducing reporting requirements and excluding smaller entities. The CSRD was adopted in November 2022 and took effect in January 2023 (I wrote about it HERE), providing reporting requirements that are being phased in during 2024-2028. CSRD superseded and narrowed the EU’s previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD; which I discussed HERE). The remainder of this note discusses the proposed changes.
Read MoreTags: CSRD, ESG, Hazardous Material, RegulatoryUpdates, Risk Management, Sustainability Reporting, EU Regulations, Sustainability Strategy, Corporate Sustainability, EU Compliance
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 MoreTags: Health & Safety, OSHA, EHS, Safety and Health at Work, Injury, Health and Safety Compliance, Workplace Safety Guidelines, Risk Management