OSHA vows to help small businesses

US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is appealing to small cleaning contractors and facility managers of smaller operations, as well as all other small business operators, to turn to OSHA for assistance in protecting workers from on-the-job injuries.

United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) unveiled recently a compliance assistance initiative and the creation of a leadership position in OSHA to carry out the program.

Chao also announced plans to establish an office dedicated to small business.

“Our existing enforcement practices will stay — and they’ll be more effective because they will be targeted on that small percentage of bad actors. But we’re also going to bring a transparency to the regulatory jungle that is unprecedented in the federal government,” Chao said in a speech to small business operators at a recent meeting.

Other aspects of the initiative include:

· New job descriptions for OSHA employees that require them to assist businesses and forbid employees from referring you for investigation just because you asked a question

· A guide that OSHA inspectors use will be available for public viewing online

· OSHA service centers will no longer have caller ID telephone service.

Senate considers ergo law

The US Senate is considering legislation that would require OSHA to “reissue” a workplace standard after members of its Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the proposal.

The US Chamber of Commerce and the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) have blasted the legislation that was introduced in April by Sen. John Breaux, D-La.

The legislation seeks to make an end-run around a proposal from US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao that would allow industries to voluntarily address workplace ergonomic injuries.

The Chamber alleges that Breaux’s legislation would require the secretary to issue a final regulation governing ergonomics within two years of enactment, “regardless of what the science might in fact justify.”

“In the final analysis, it is our belief that Congress should not mandate an ergonomics regulation. Musculoskeletal injuries have been in steady decline over the last several years, and the Secretary’s program, announced only a few months ago, should be allowed to proceed,” a letter from the Chamber of Commerce stated.

California drops mold mandate

First-of-its-kind in the nation legislation that would have required insurers to cover mold claims in California is dead — at least for now.

The so-called mold mandate legislation was withdrawn by its sponsor, state Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), who vows to reintroduce it during next year’s legislative session.

The legislation was labeled a job killer by the California Chamber of and was adamantly opposed by the insurance industry.

The legislation would have required insurers to provide mold coverage in all liability policies sold in California.

While it would have likely driven up insurance costs in the state, it could have been a boon to mold remediators in the state.

Say what? OSHA issues new hearing loss rule

OSHA is seeking comments on a long-awaited revision to the record-keeping rule involving work related hearing loss that it finally issued last month.

The new criteria for recording on-the-job hearing loss requires employers to record hearing loss when an employee's hearing test shows a marked decrease in overall hearing, an OSHA spokesman told Cleaning & Maintenance Management.

Employers will be allowed under the guidelines to make adjustments for natural hearing loss caused by aging.

Additionally, the spokeswoman said, employers are able to:

· Seek the advice of a physician or licensed health care professional to determine if the loss is work-related

· Perform additional hearing tests to verify the persistence of the hearing loss.

Under the new rule, the criteria will record 10-decibel shifts from the employee's initial hearing test when they also result in an overall hearing level of 25 decibels.

The old rule recorded 25-decibel shifts.

Written comments on the agency's proposal must be submitted by August 30, triplicate to: The Docket Office, Docket R-02B, Room N2625, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20210, (202) 693-2350.