On Thursday, December 12, 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced that it had finalized a revision to its construction standard for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) – 29 CFR § 1926.95. The revision explicitly requires that all PPE must properly fit employees. The final rule will go into effect on January 13, 2025.
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States overruled Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council and with it the so-called “Chevron deference.” We detailed the holding of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo in an article here. Today, we are going to discuss what the Loper decision means for operators moving forward.
Briefly, Chevron deference required courts to defer to an…
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a highly-anticipated decision in the twin cases of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Dep’t of Commerce, which will now make it more difficult for federal agencies to issue rules and regulations that aim to carry out statutory mandates of Congress. The 6-3 decision overrules the 1984 decision Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense…
On May 20, 2024, the Department of Labor announced a final rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration which essentially updates the Hazard Communication (“HazCom”) Standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200) with new requirements regarding labels and safety data sheets (“SDSs”). The updated standard will also primarily align with Revision 7 of the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System…
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) released its final rule aimed at reducing miners’ exposure to respirable crystalline silica, otherwise known as silica dust or quartz dust. The final rule largely adopts the version MSHA proposed last year that modifies the limits of exposure to crystalline silica and increases existing protections against other…
On August 23, 2023, a divided Sixth Circuit concluded that Congress’s delegation of authority to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) to set workplace-safety standards was constitutional and not violative of the nondelegation doctrine. In Allstates Refractory Contractors, LLC v. Su, the court reasoned that Congress’s delegation provided an “intelligible principle” that…
On June 30, 2023, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) made publicly available a proposed rule that would amend existing federal standards with respect to occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica, or silica dust. The stated purpose of the proposed rule is to better protect miners against occupational exposure to silica dust and improve respiratory protection for all…
During the 2023 regular session, the West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 3270 amending the state’s deliberate intent law. HB 3270 became law without the Governor’s signature and will apply to injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2023.
HB 3270 made two changes. First, a requirement was added to § 23-4-2(d)(2)(B)(v)(IV) that when an employee asserts deliberate intent with respect to…
In an effort to reduce accidents and fatalities within the mining industry, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently implemented an “Enhanced Enforcement Program” aimed at truck drivers and supervisors.[1] The program will be part of regular surface and underground mine inspections, with the added potential for special assessments for cited violations listed within the program.…
On June 8, 2022, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) launched the “Silica Enforcement Initiative” to better protect miners from health hazards related to repeated over-exposure to respirable crystalline silica (silica dust).[1] The new program focuses on four areas for improvement: mine inspections, silica sampling, compliance assistance for mines, and the reinforcement of on-site…
On May 11, 2022, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by the Federal Mine Safety Health & Review Commission (“Commission”) that a mine operator provided advanced notice of an MSHA inspection during events that occurred in April 2012. KenAmerica Resources, Inc. v. Sec’y of Labor, 2022 WL 1483988 (May 11, 2022).
Factually, the case involved a situation where MSHA received an…
