WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Dr. David Michaels today testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Michaels shared the U.S. Department of Labor's views on the Protecting America's Workers Act, particularly the issue of enhanced penalties.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration surveys employers to collect workplace injury and illness data it uses to identify employers whose injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average. A letter has been sent to about 15,000 workplaces with the highest numbers of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activities or job transfers, known as the DART rate.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is extending the comment period on the proposed rule to revise the Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting (recordkeeping) regulation to March 30, 2010.

OREGON, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited BP North American Inc. and BP-Husky Refining LLC's refinery in Oregon, Ohio, with 42 alleged willful violations, including 39 on a per-instance basis, and 20 alleged serious violations for exposing workers to a variety of hazards including failure to provide adequate pressure relief for process units. Proposed penalties total $3,042,000.

Owner pleads guilty to related criminal charge

WASHINGTON, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined the C.A. Franc construction company $539,000 following the investigation of a roofing worker who fell 40 feet to his death at a Washington worksite. The Valencia, Pa.-based roof installer – whose owner is Christopher A. Franc – was cited for 10 per-instance willful citations for failing to protect workers from falls.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered the Illinois Central Railroad Co. and the Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad, both headquartered in Homewood, Ill., to pay a former railroad employee more than $80,000 in back wages, compensatory damages and attorney's fees.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing to revise its Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting(recordkeeping) regulation by restoring a column on the OSHA Form 300 to better identify work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The rule does not change existing requirements for when and under what circumstances employers must record musculoskeletal disorders on their injury and illness logs.

FULTON, Miss. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued three Mueller Industries Inc. subsidiaries in Fulton 128 citations for allegedly exposing workers to safety and health hazards. The privately-held corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., owns and operates 20 facilities located in eight states and two foreign countries.

Agency also launches transparency Web site 2 weeks early

Public meeting scheduled for Feb. 10 in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced a public meeting, "OSHA Listens," to solicit comments and suggestions from OSHA stakeholders on key issues facing the agency. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST in Washington, D.C.

HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued CES Environmental Services Inc. willful and serious citations after an investigation into a fatal explosion at the company's Griggs Road facility in Houston. Proposed penalties total $1,477,500.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Walt Disney World for safety violations following the fatality of a monorail driver in July and issued a recommendation letter concerning the death of an actor during a stage production at the theme park in August.

Effort will promote labor rights of Mexican and other Hispanic workers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

DENVER The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division together have fined Tempel Grain Elevators LLP of Wiley, Colo., more than $1.6 million following the May 29 death of a teenage worker at the company's Haswell, Colo., grain storage operation. The youth suffocated after being engulfed by grain in one of the facility bins. The company also exposed three other teenage workers to the cited hazards.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold two stakeholder meetings on Dec. 14 to discuss combustible dust workplace hazards.

The meetings will be held at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST at the Marriott at Metro Center located at 775 12th St. NW in Washington, D.C.

OSHA will use comments from these meetings and responses to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in developing a comprehensive standard addressing fire and explosion hazards of combustible dust.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has prepared a fact sheet providing crowd control guidelines for retailers to protect workers during major sales events.

OSHA finds problems identified in report alarming

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) welcomes the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report on the under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses and OSHA's audit process.

The report identifies a number of factors that may contribute to the inaccuracy of employer injury and illness records, as well as problems with the audits that OSHA conducts to ensure their accuracy.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its acetylene standard. A final rule replaces references to outdated industry standards with updated references reflecting current industry practices.

CINCINNATI – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited bridge and water tower painter UCL Inc. in Cincinnati with alleged willful, egregious and serious violations of federal workplace safety and health standards for exposing workers to lead. Proposed fines total $321,000.

OSHA began its inspection in May where UCL was abrasive blasting paint from two bridge overpasses on I-75 near Middletown, Ohio. The inspection revealed nine alleged willful and two serious violations.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Loren Cook Co. of Springfield with seven alleged willful and three alleged serious violations after a worker was killed by an ejected machine part on May 13.