We wanted to make you aware that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published the first issue of The Heat Source, the newsletter of the Heat Illness Prevention Campaign. Please see below. To subscribe, please visit OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Campaign webpage, or click here.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced changes to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) civil penalty amounts based on cost-of-living adjustments for 2023.

In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. Under the Act, agencies are required to publish “catch-up” rules that adjust the level of civil monetary penalties and make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. This year, January 15 falls on a Sunday and January 16 is a federal holiday. Therefore, new OSHA penalty amounts will become effective Jan. 17, 2023.

OSHA’s maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will increase from $14,502 per violation to $15,625 per violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $145,027 per violation to $156,259 per violation.

Visit the OSHA Penalties page and read the final rule and press release for more information.

To continue the mission to reduce vehicle crashes and crash fatalities – and work-related crashes and crash deaths – the Buckle Up Phone Down Business Showdown was created. Check out the website at: https://savemolives.com/mcrs/buckle-phone-down-business-showdown

The BUPD Business Showdown was created to take the Buckle Up Phone Down message to employers and employees that drive as part of their work.  It’s a competition, too!  Businesses can compete and win $$$ for participating. First place is $7,500, second place is $6,000, and third place is $5,000. The BUPD Showdown runs from January 9 to March 31, 2023 and is open to all Missouri employers with five or more employees.

Businesses can register on the Buckle Up Phone Down Business Showdown website and encourage employees to take the BUPD pledge. Employees that take the BUPD pledge are committing to driving the speed limit, avoiding distracted driving, wearing seat belts, and avoiding impaired driving.

There’s also a “BUPD Policy” in the Employer Toolkit section of the Showdown website.  Missouri companies with fleets / work-related driving are encouraged to participate!

Questions can be directed to Mark Woodward at [email protected] or (573) 289-5990.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.

OSHA Regional Administrators and Area Office Directors now have the authority to cite certain types of violations as “instance-by-instance citations” for cases where the agency identifies “high-gravity” serious violations of OSHA standards specific to certain conditions where the language of the rule supports a citation for each instance of non-compliance. These conditions include lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, falls, trenching and for cases with other-than-serious violations specific to recordkeeping.

The change is intended to ensure OSHA personnel are applying the full authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA Act) where increased citations are needed to discourage non-compliance. The new guidance covers enforcement activity in general industry, agriculture, maritime and construction industries, and becomes effective 60 days from Jan. 26, 2023.

In a second action, OSHA reminded its Regional Administrators and Area Directors of their authority not to group violations, and instead cite them separately to more effectively encourage employers to comply with the intent of the OSH Act.

Existing guidance on instance-by-instance citations are outlined in the OSHA Field Operations Manual, and CPL 02-00-080, “Handling of Cases to be Proposed for Violation-by-Violation Penalties.”

For more information, please visit OSHA’s Enforcement website and Press Release.

As we gear up for winter weather, you can find info on safely using powered equipment like snow blowers, clearing snow from heights, winter driving, working around downed power lines, and more at https://www.osha.gov/winter-weather

• OSHA Winter Weather: Plan. Equip. Train.
• OSHA Cold Stress Guide
• Refrigerated Warehousing (listed under warehouse hazards)
• OSHA Safe Winter Driving

Remember the various hazards of shoveling snow, operating powered equipment like snow blowers and preventing slips on Snow and Ice. OSHA has resources available to help workers stay safe, including a new pamphlet on snow removal, a cold stress Quick Card in English and Spanish, and a Winter Weather web page.

Alliance participants resources include:

CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training Alliance products:

• Cold Weather Toolbox Talk. Also available in Spanish.
• Cold Weather Hazard Alert. Also available in Spanish.
• Cold Weather Infographics — Protect Yourself from the Cold (English attached)

Employers should assess their worksites and develop a plan prior to a winter weather emergency.  Please share this information, as appropriate.

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