ISRI2021: Outlook on OSHA

With a new presidential administration comes new directives for the nation’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). During the ISRI2021 convention and exposition, which has been online April 20-22 and April 27-29, Ryan Nolte, director of safety outreach at the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), outlined some of the changes in OSHA directives scrap recyclers must be aware of this year.

As of January, Jim Frederick has stepped in as OSHA’s acting administrator and deputy assistant secretary. Frederick spent 25 years in the Health, Safety and Environment Department of the United Steelworkers Union, serving as assistant director and principal investigator until 2019. Additionally, he has served on a number of safety and health groups, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Board of Scientific Counselor; the ANSI Z10 standard committee; the U.S. committee that contributed to the ISO 45001 standard; the NIOSH NORA Traumatic Injury Prevention Council; the NIEHS Worker Training Program National Clearinghouse Advisory Committee; and the OSHA Metal Working Fluids Standard Advisory Committee.

“He has been in the OSHA and NIOSH world for a long time,” Nolte said of Frederick.

Nolte said OSHA increased the maximum penalties for serious OSHA violations by 11.8 percent as of Jan. 15. The maximum penalty for serious OSHA violations is now $13,653 per violation. Failure to abate in response to that violation is now $13,653 per day beyond the abatement date. He added that willful or repeated violations are now $136,532.

Nolte said OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP), effective March 12, will affect scrap recyclers. The administration’s National Emphasis Programs are temporary programs that focus OSHA’s resources on particular hazards and high-hazard industries.

The administration’s NEP for hazardous machinery will take a close look at workplace amputations. From 2015 to 2019, amputations were the second-highest reported severe injury by scrap recyclers, only behind fractures.

“All amputations are going to get attention,” Nolte said. “If you have to contact OSHA about an amputation, most likely you will get an inspection.”

Additionally, Nolte said, OSHA is updating its inspection program that directs agency enforcement resources to establishments with the highest rates of injuries and illnesses under its site-specific targeting (SST) directive. He said SST selects establishments based on injury and illness data employers submitted for the 2017-2019 calendar years. The updated directive replaces SST 2016 and includes the creation of a new targeting category for establishments indicating consistent injury and illness rate increases over the three-year data collection period and allows records only for inspections to occur when a compliance safety and health officer determines incorrect data led to an establishment’s inclusion in the program to ensure OSHA will conduct a full inspection only when an employer has an actual elevated injury or illness experience.

Nolte said the industry also can expect stricter OSHA enforcement under the Biden administration. Under the Obama administration from 2013 to 2016, OSHA’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) enforcement 562920 led to 480 inspections. Under the Trump administration from 2017 to 2020, that same enforcement led to 390 inspections. Under the Biden administration, five inspections for this enforcement have occurred through March 15.

For NAICS enforcement 26111 under the Obama administration, 848 inspections occurred. Under the Trump administration, 589 inspections occurred. Under the Biden administration, 21 inspections have occurred through March 15.

Nolte added that inspection trends were similar for OSHA’s enforcement 423930 and 423130 as well.

Also new this year, Biden released an executive order Jan. 21 aimed at protecting worker health and safety. That executive order directs the Department of Labor and OSHA to issue updated guidance on COVID-19-related worker protections, which was completed Jan. 29. It also directs OSHA to consider issuing emergency temporary standards related to COVID-19, and that became a NEP March 12. That NEP directs employers to implement COVID-19 prevention measures, including conducting a hazard assessment, identifying a combination of measures that limit the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, adopting measures to ensure workers who are infected or potentially infected are separated and sent home from the workplace and implementing protections from retaliation for workers who raise COVID-19-related concerns.

As of Jan. 14, OSHA issued citations related to COVID-19 that have totaled more than $4 million in penalties. Nolte said states with the highest number of citations include California, Michigan, Nevada and Washington.