US Department of Labors OSHA to hold additional stakeholder meetings on worker injury and illness prevention rule

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has scheduled two additional stakeholder meetings, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Sacramento, Calif., to solicit comments in developing the Injury and Illness Prevention Program proposed rule. These additional meetings are part of a series of five.

The stakeholder meetings are informal discussions to provide OSHA with the necessary information to develop a rule that will help employers reduce workplace injuries and illnesses through a systematic process proactively addressing workplace safety and health hazards.

"With this proposal, we will be asking employers to find and fix the hazards in their workplaces," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "This common sense rule will help make the secretary of labor's vision of 'good jobs for everyone' a reality."

More information on OSHA's Injury and Illness Prevention Program is available in a May 2010 Federal Register notice at http://s.dol.gov/35.

Two meetings already have been conducted in East Brunswick, N.J., and Dallas, Texas. Registration for a third meeting in Washington, D.C., to be held June 29 has reached full capacity. To allow more stakeholders to provide input, OSHA has scheduled another Washington meeting for July 20 and the Sacramento meeting for Aug. 3. All meetings will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time.

Anyone interested in participating in the newly added meetings should submit a notice of intent to participate through https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/osha/register-osha-I2P2.htm. Submissions also can be mailed to Eastern Research Group Inc., 110 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02421, Attention: OSHA I2P2 Stakeholder Meeting Registration. Or fax submissions to 781-674-2906 labeled "Attention: OSHA I2P2 Stakeholder Meeting Registration."

Submission deadlines for confirmed registration are July 6 for the Washington meeting and July 20 for the Sacramento meeting. After these deadlines, registration will remain open until the meetings are full.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.