US Department of Labor, Harvey Construction Corp. align to promote safety, health during construction of Mark Stebbins Community Center

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US Department of Labor, Harvey Construction Corp. align to promote safety, health during construction of Mark Stebbins Community Center MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has signed a strategic partnership with Harvey Construction Corp. to promote worker safety and health during construction of the Mark Stebbins Community Center.The partnership with the Bedford-based commercial construction company seeks to prevent worker injuries and exposure to hazards by developing a contractor-government approach to safety and health. The initiative will also assist contractors in developing and implementing safety and health management systems and providing training to employees, employers and supervisors. Participants will focus on identifying and preventing common hazards on large-scale construction projects, such as falls and being struck by or caught in materials or equipment.The Mark Stebbins Community Center project co...
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US Department of Labor issues final rule to clarify rights to employee representation during OSHA inspections

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US Department of Labor issues final rule to clarify rights to employee representation during OSHA inspections
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule clarifying the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer during an inspection of their workplace will be published in the Federal Register on April 1. The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. The final rule clarifies that, consistent with the law, workers may authorize another employee to serve as their representative or select a non-employee. For a non-employee representative to accompany the compliance officer in a workplace, they must be reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection. Consistent with OSHA’s historic practice, the rule clarifies that a non-employee representative may be reasonably necessary based upon skills, knowledge or experience. This experience may include knowledge or experience with hazards or conditions in the workplace or similar workplaces, or language or communication skills to ensure an effective and thorough inspection. These revisions better align OSHA’s regulation with the OSH Act and enable the agency to conduct more effective inspections. OSHA regulations require no specific qualifications for employer representatives or for employee representatives who are employed by the employer.The rule is in part a response to a 2017 court decision ruling the agency’s existing regulation, 29 CFR 1903.8(c), only permitted employees of the employer to be authorized as representatives. However, the court acknowledged that the OSH Act does not limit who can serve as an employee representative and that OSHA’s historic practice was a “persuasive and valid construction” of the OSH Act. Today’s final rule is the culmination of notice and comment rulemaking that clarifies OSHA’s inspection regulation and aligns with OSHA’s longstanding construction of the act.“Worker involvement in the inspection process is essential for thorough and effective inspections and making workplaces safer,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives employers and employees equal opportunity for choosing representation during the OSHA inspection process, and this rule returns us to the fair, balanced approach Congress intended.”The rule is effective on May 31, 2024.Learn more about OSHA.

Published at March 29, 2024 at 05:00AM
Read more at https://dol.gov

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