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PAINTSQUARE BLOG CONTRIBUTORS
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Eric J. Conn |
Eric J. Conn is a founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey and Chair of the firm’s national OSHA • Workplace Safety Group. His practice focuses exclusively on issues involving occupational safety and health law. OSHA Watch offers general information but should not be construed as legal advice. Employers are always advised to seek appropriate counsel for individual issues. Contact Eric.
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OSHA’s Top Regulatory Priorities… Other than COVID-19 By Eric J. Conn |
OSHA has been quite busy the last few months on the rulemaking front, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Despite the fact that COVID-19 still sucks most of the air out of the room, over the last...
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POSTED JUNE 22, 2022 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA Proposes Changes to E-Recordkeeping Rule By Eric J. Conn |
After years of advocacy for change to (or the recission of) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's controversial Obama-era rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses” (...
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POSTED AUGUST 13, 2018 | 0 COMMENTS |
The State-Federal OSHA Tug-of-War By Eric J. Conn |
A fascinating jurisdictional tug-of-war has broken out between federal OSHA and a few fed-OSHA-approved state OSH programs, in relation to OSHA’s Final Rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries ...
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POSTED JUNE 12, 2018 | 0 COMMENTS |
Repeat Violations: OSHA's Unlimited Look-Back Window By Eric J. Conn |
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently issued an opinion granting OSHA the ultimate leeway to characterize citations as "Repeat." The case involved a Repeat excavation-related OSHA ...
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POSTED APRIL 24, 2018 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA Civil Penalties On the Rise Again By Eric J. Conn |
As of Jan. 2, civil penalties for workplace safety and health violations issued by federal OSHA increased again by two percent across the board. Although a two percent increase does not shock the syst...
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POSTED JANUARY 23, 2018 | 0 COMMENTS |
Reporting Inpatient Hospitalizations to OSHA: Common Misunderstandings and Mistakes By Eric J. Conn |
There are several nuances employers routinely miss that affect the determination of whether a hospitalization is actually reportable to OSHA....
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POSTED OCTOBER 30, 2017 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA Delays Electronic Recordkeeping Rule By Eric J. Conn |
In a dramatic, but not unexpected, move last month, OSHA suspended this controversial data submission requirement with no word on when—or whether—a new deadline would be set for the data submission....
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POSTED JUNE 16, 2017 | 0 COMMENTS |
Trump's Budget and the Department of Labor By Eric J. Conn |
The Trump Administration submitted a blueprint budget for 2018 to Congress proposing $2.5 billion in cuts to the U.S. Department of Labor’s operating budget. ...
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POSTED APRIL 12, 2017 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA's Slips, Trips and Falls Rule Revamped By Eric J. Conn |
On January 17, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new Walking-Working Surfaces Rule took effect, updating OSHA regulations that have been in place for nearly a half century. ...
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POSTED FEBRUARY 27, 2017 | 1 COMMENT |
OSHA’s Anti-Retaliation Recordkeeping Rule, Part 4 By Eric J. Conn |
Following the enactment of this controversial rule [the Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation], eight industry groups and companies—among them, Associated Builders and...
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POSTED NOVEMBER 9, 2016 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA’s Anti-Retaliation Recordkeeping Rule, Part 3 By Eric J. Conn |
OSHA has expressed particular concern with the supposed chilling effect and retaliatory nature of employee incentive programs used by many employers across industries....
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POSTED OCTOBER 26, 2016 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA’s Anti-Retaliation Recordkeeping Rule, Part 2 By Eric J. Conn |
The new “workers’ rights” anti-retaliation provisions of the updated Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation add language to 29 C.F.R. §§ 1904.35 (employee involvement) ...
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POSTED OCTOBER 19, 2016 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA’s Anti-Retaliation Recordkeeping Rule, Part 1 By Eric J. Conn |
OSHA’s recent reform to its Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses regulation has created quite a stir for employers....
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POSTED OCTOBER 12, 2016 | 1 COMMENT |
OSHA Civil Penalties Spike By Eric J. Conn |
On June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an Interim Final Rule to implement the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act passed last fall as part of the highly publicized B...
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POSTED AUGUST 17, 2016 | 1 COMMENT |
OSHA’s Enforcement Weighting System By Eric J. Conn |
Over the course of this year, employers can expect to see longer, more comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspections that focus on complex safety and health hazards. ...
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POSTED MAY 25, 2016 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA vs. DC Court: Statute of Limitations By Eric J. Conn |
Late last year I wrote about a significant rulemaking to amend OSHA’s injury and illness recordkeeping regulations to require employers to proactively submit their injury logs and reports to OSHA on a...
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POSTED APRIL 27, 2016 | 1 COMMENT |
OSHA Withdraws Long-Planned Rule to Reduce Slips, Trips and Falls By Eric J. Conn |
In what can only be viewed as another example of OSHA’s inability to effectively advance its rulemaking agenda, the federal agency recently withdrew its quarter-century-in-the-making draft Final Rule ...
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POSTED MARCH 23, 2016 | 3 COMMENTS |
OSHA Criminal Cases on the Rise By Eric J. Conn |
In the 40-plus years since Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act, there have been more than 400,000 workplace fatalities, yet fewer than 80 total OSH Act criminal cases have been pro...
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POSTED MARCH 2, 2016 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA’s Web Reporting Tool: Use with Caution By Eric J. Conn |
In addition to employers’ longstanding obligation, as of Jan. 1, 2015, to report to OSHA all work-related fatalities within 8 hours, all employers were required to also begin reporting to OSHA, within...
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POSTED FEBRUARY 3, 2016 | 0 COMMENTS |
Should You Demand an OSHA Warrant? By Eric J. Conn |
Perhaps the most common question I am asked about OSHA inspections is...
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POSTED NOVEMBER 10, 2015 | 0 COMMENTS |
OSHA’s Full-Time Enforcement Policy for Temporary Workers By Eric J. Conn |
In April 2013, OSHA declared that protecting temporary workers would become a top priority....
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POSTED SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 | 1 COMMENT |
Battling the Employer Blacklist By Eric J. Conn |
On July 13, 2014, President Obama executed Executive Order 1376: “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces.”
On May 28, 2015, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council (composed of the Defense Departmen...
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POSTED JUNE 30, 2015 | 2 COMMENTS |
OSHA Missteps on SVEP By Eric J. Conn |
It’s been five years since OSHA launched its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, and two years since an agency White Paper trumpeted the program’s “strong start” and progress on “key goals.”...
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POSTED JANUARY 26, 2015 | 0 COMMENTS |
Beware of Stepped-Up Reporting Rules By Eric J. Conn |
This month has brought an unwelcome announcement from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration: a sweeping amendment to its Injury & Illness Recordkeeping regulations....
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POSTED SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 | 0 COMMENTS |
Opening a Loophole for Stale Claims By Eric J. Conn |
On May 21, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a memo discussing a new agreement about a back-door route for employees to file safety-related whistleblower claims that are too st...
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POSTED JULY 21, 2014 | 0 COMMENTS |
Staying Safely on a Roll By Eric J. Conn |
Fall hazards are always among the top Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement priorities. These violations rank among the most frequently cited year after year....
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POSTED MAY 6, 2014 | 4 COMMENTS |
Sick Over Illness/Injury Reporting Plan By Eric J. Conn |
Intrusive and burdensome are just two of the words we used in reporting earlier on OSHA’s proposed new Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting rule....
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POSTED FEBRUARY 21, 2014 | 1 COMMENT |
Know Your Rights When OSHA Calls By Eric J. Conn |
I was recently asked an interesting question: “Employers often are told to know and exercise their rights during an OSHA inspection. What exactly are those rights?”...
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POSTED JANUARY 30, 2014 | 6 COMMENTS |
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