SAFETY & COMPLIANCE NEWS
Keep up to date on the latest developments affecting OSHA, DOT, EPA, and DOL regulatory compliance.
Copyright 2025 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.
FEATURED NEWS
2025-01-23T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsEnforcement and Audits - OSHAEnforcement and Audits - OSHASafety & HealthGeneral Industry SafetyIn-Depth ArticleEnglishFocus AreaUSA
Calling all Canadian safety pros! Did you know there were changes to the OSH Code?
On December 4, 2024, the province of Alberta updated their Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code, and it could affect you! Read on to find out how it could impact your business.
The good news is that the updates were intended to align with other Canadian jurisdictions and make the Occupational Health and Safety Act regulation easier to understand! The OHS Code provides detailed technical requirements for controlling workplace health and safety hazards.
The bad news is – well, there really isn’t any bad news. The updates are meant to simplify and clarify some requirements and clean up some duplication and errors found in the previous version.
Which regulatory Parts changed?
Changes made to the Code are outcome-focused instead of requirement-focused so employers can set compliance goals and objectives that suit their workers and establishments.
- Part 27: Violence and Harassment — includes provisions for addressing workplace violence as well as retail fuel and convenience store worker safety. Updates included:
- Consolidating violence and harassment prevention plans, policies and procedures requirements to remove duplication, and shifting health and safety focus to outcomes rather than prescriptive steps; and
- Adding definitions for “convenience store” and “retail fueling outlets”.
- Part 33: Explosives — promotes labour mobility and inter-provincial cohesion, and incorporates industry best practices. Updates included:
- Bringing technical standards up to date;
- Ensuring requirements reflect best practices for health and safety, including introducing definitions for technical terms;
- Improving flexibility by changing health and safety prescriptive requirements to outcomes, where appropriate;
- Aligning roles and responsibilities within the OHC Act.
- Recognizing the unique requirements for perforating guns; and
- Removing duplicated information.
- Part 37: Oil and Gas Wells — clarifies some requirements and incorporates industry best practices. Updates included:
- Bringing technical standards up to date;
- Ensuring requirements reflect best practices for health and safety, including introducing definitions for technical terms;
- Improving flexibility by changing health and safety prescriptive requirements to outcomes, where appropriate;
- Aligning roles and responsibilities within the OHC Act; and
- Removing duplicated information.
What’s my deadline?
Employers are being given a transitional period between December 4, 2024 and March 30, 2025. The final effective date for compliance with the updated provision is March 31, 2025.
Key to remember: Updates have been made to several Parts of Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code to clarify health and safety expected outcomes.
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RECENT INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
2025-01-23T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsIndustry NewsRecordkeepingRecordkeepingHR GeneralistFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)USAHR ManagementEnglishFocus AreaHuman Resources
FMLA recordkeeping 101
Like so many employment laws, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) includes recordkeeping requirements. Employers must also keep certain related records regarding employee identification and pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Much of that information falls under the FMLA as well.
The FMLA does not require any particular order or form of records. Employers may keep the records electronically if they wish. Employers must, however, be able to provide the records should the U.S. Department of Labor conduct an audit or investigation.
Employers need to keep the following information:
- Employees' identifying information
- Full name and social security number
- Address, including zip code
- Birth date, if younger than 19
- Sex and occupation
- Payroll data
- Time and day of the week when the employee's workweek begins
- Hours worked each day
- Total hours worked each workweek
- Basis on which employee's wages are paid (e.g., "$9 per hour," "$440 a week," "piecework")
- Regular hourly pay rate o Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
- Total overtime earnings for the workweek
- All additions to or deductions from the employee's wages
- Total wages paid each pay period
- Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment
- Date(s) of FMLA leaves
- FMLA hours/days/weeks taken
- Copies of eligibility/rights and responsibilities notice
- Copies of designation notices
- Employee FMLA-related notices
- Copies of certification forms
- Benefit documents
- Records involving disputes about the designation of FMLA leave
Three years
Employers should keep these documents for at least three years. They must keep any records with medical information confidential and separate from any personnel file(s).
Key to remember: During audits or investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor can make broad information requests, so employers need to have excellent recordkeeping.
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2025-01-23T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsFleet SafetyTransportation SecurityTransportation SecurityFocus AreaIn-Depth ArticleEnglishTransportationUSA
Putting the brakes on human trafficking
Human trafficking is a crime that strips away dignity and freedom from its victims. It is all our responsibility to be a light in the darkness of this crime and help create a world where all people live without fear or exploitation.
What is human trafficking?
The United States Department of Justice defines human trafficking as “… any act that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological.” In layman’s terms it is forced labor, commercial sex or other harmful activity that a person is engaged in. All commercial sex involving minors is also human trafficking.
This crime affects people of all races and genders. 14% of victims of sex trafficking are male. While women are also the largest group victimized for labor, men account for almost 37% of these cases.
A study found an estimated 2,950 involving human trafficking reported to the FBI’s reporting base resulted in an estimated 3,570 victimizations. These criminals often have more than one victim enslaved at a time.
The big problem
A common misconception is that all people involved have been kidnapped. Many victims are coerced by someone they know and trust. After being convinced to commit an act once, they are later intimidated to continue. Many victims are not aware they are being trafficked and believe they are in a legitimate situation.
Signs of human trafficking
Unfortunately, truck stops and rest areas can be hotbeds for human trafficking. Drivers can help by paying attention to what is going on around them. If a person or group of people are dressed inappropriately for the weather, such as wearing revealing clothing in the winter they are a potential victim. Traffickers often monitor or control the individual being trafficked, not allowing them to speak for themselves. Some of these criminals even tattoo bar codes or apply hot iron brands to the victim to signify ownership.
Community participation efforts
January is human trafficking awareness month. While it is important to look for signs of trafficking every day, the focus in January is to educate people on the problem and what they can do to help. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) holds an outreach every year for one week to educate CMV drivers, carriers and law enforcement about crimes involving human trafficking, the signs to look for and how to report possible trafficking. Wallet cards reminding drivers things to look for and window stickers displaying the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline are distributed at truck stops, scales and carrier terminals to create awareness of this heinous crime.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) even awards innovative transportation teams a “Combatting Human Trafficking in Transportation Impact Award”. This award is a platform to develop and submit creative counter trafficking tools that can be shared with the larger community.
Don’t take matters into your own hands
It is nearly impossible to know if the victim is being watched by one person or a group of people. Your safety and the safety of the potential victim are paramount. Do not attempt to confront a suspected trafficker directly. If you suspect someone you have been in contact with is being trafficked call 911 or call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888. Suspicious activity can even be reported online, Report Trafficking | National Human Trafficking Hotline. Provide as much detail as possible such as who and what you saw, where and when it occurred, and why it looked suspicious.
Key to remember: Knowledge and awareness are critical in recognizing the signs that could free someone from this traumatic experience.
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2025-01-23T06:00:00Z
NewsHuman Resource ManagementUSAHR ManagementEnglishAssociate Benefits & CompensationDiscriminationGender DiscriminationDiscriminationTitle VII (The Civil Rights Act of 1964)HR PoliciesIndustry NewsIndustry NewsAffirmative ActionGovernment contractsProtected classesGovernment ContractsHR GeneralistFocus AreaLabor Law PostersLabor Law PostersAssociate RelationsExecutive Order 11246Human Resources
Mandatory labor law poster change likely to result from executive orders, new EEOC leadership
Executive orders that remove protections for gender identity discrimination and revoke anti-discrimination requirements for federal contractors are likely to bring a mandatory change to the Know Your Rights posting from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
This poster must be displayed by employers with 15 or more employees as well as federal contractors.
The likely change is due to:
- An executive order recognizing male and female as the only sexes. The Know Your Rights posting lists sex as a protected class and notes that this includes gender identity. The executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” states that sex is not a synonym for gender identity.
- An executive order revoking other executive orders relating to diversity or affirmative action. The “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” executive order revokes Executive Order 11246, which prohibits employment discrimination by federal contractors based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, and requires affirmative action. A summary of Executive Order 11246 is on the Know Your Rights posting.
- A change in leadership at the EEOC. Andrea Lucas, the new acting EEOC chair, concurs with the stance taken in these executive orders. In a press release announcing her appointment, she said her priorities will include “defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights” and “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination.”
When could a mandatory posting change occur?
The timing of a posting change for federal contractors and general employers may be different, based on the wording in the executive orders impacting the poster:
- Federal contractors: The executive order banning affirmative action gives federal contractors time to comply with the change, stating that, “For 90 days from the date of this order, Federal contractors may continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in effect on January 20, 2025.” During that time, more guidance regarding a posting change may be provided.
- Employers with 15 or more employees: A posting change for other employers is not likely to come without its day in court. The Supreme Court found in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that firing individuals because of their sexual orientation or transgender status violates Title VII, as this is discrimination on the basis of sex. It may take a court ruling to result in an official change to the department’s definition of sex and an update to the EEOC’s workplace poster. The EEOC’s website on sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination continues to state that the law forbids gender identity discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment.
There is always the possibility that a government agency will make a change based on its own interpretation of the law, however. Federal contractors and employers with 15 or more employees should be ready to display a revised poster if a new version is released by the EEOC.
Key to remember: Changes to the way the current administration views affirmative action and the definition of sex could bring a mandatory change to the Know Your Rights poster from the EEOC.
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2025-01-23T06:00:00Z
NewsIndustry NewsHazmat SafetyHazmat: HighwayFocus AreaIn-Depth ArticleHazmat EnforcementEnglishTransportationUSA
Counterfeit vehicle safety devices pose hidden dangers
Imagine driving down the road, confident in the safety features of your car or commercial motor vehicle (CMV), only to discover that the airbag you rely on could be a ticking time bomb. This isn't a scene from a thriller, it's a real risk posed by counterfeit vehicle safety devices. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued a Safety Advisory Notice to alert everyone about this growing danger.
PHMSA's advisory is a wake-up call about the dangers of counterfeit safety devices like airbag inflators, airbag modules, seatbelt pretensioners, and other supplemental restraint system (SRS) components. These fake parts are often made by inexperienced manufacturers and sold at bargain prices. They might contain unapproved explosive materials, making them not just unreliable but downright dangerous.
If you need additional information on explosives compatibility, check out this ezExplanation.
What are safety devices?
Safety devices in vehicles/CMV’s, vessels, or aircraft are designed to protect you by using pyrotechnic substances or other hazardous materials. The Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) set the standards for testing, packaging, shipping, and transporting these devices. Genuine safety devices must meet or exceed original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specifications, and they must be properly packaged, marked, labeled, and documented for shipment.
Counterfeit crisis
Counterfeit safety devices are a growing problem. In 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized over 211,000 counterfeit automotive/CMV parts, nearly double the previous year's total. Among these, more than 490 counterfeit airbags were confiscated, a tenfold increase from 2023.
Risks of fake airbags
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that counterfeit airbags often malfunction, from not deploying at all to shooting out plastic and metal shrapnel. These malfunctions have already caused at least three fatalities. The affected vehicles/CMV’s had replacement airbags installed by independent repair shops after previous accidents.
How to protect yourself
PHMSA offers several tips to help you avoid counterfeit safety devices:
- Check the vehicle history: Before buying a used vehicle/CMV, get a vehicle history report. If you already own a used vehicle/CMV with an unknown history, it's worth checking too.
- Inspect airbags: If your vehicle/CMV has had an airbag deployment, visit a reputable mechanic or dealership to ensure the replacement airbags meet OEM specifications.
- Demand certified parts: When getting repairs, ask for proof that the parts used are certified and meet OEM standards.
- Be cautious online: When shopping for automotive/CMV safety devices online, pay attention to the brand and source of the parts.
- Consult the experts: If you suspect you have a faulty or substandard part, consult a dealership or reputable mechanic to see if it needs replacing.
The PHMSA Safety Advisory Notice is a crucial reminder to use genuine, high-quality safety devices in your vehicle/CMV. By following these recommendations, you can help ensure your safety and that of your passengers.
Key to remember: Counterfeit safety devices are very dangerous and cannot operate properly when needed or prematurely activate causing severe damage or injury. Make sure you are only purchasing, shipping, or transporting OEM quality safety devices from reputable sources.
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2025-01-23T06:00:00Z
NewsEnforcement and Audits - OSHAOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), DOLInjury and Illness RecordkeepingEnglishOSHA Violations and PenaltiesIndustry NewsIndustry NewsEnforcement and Audits - OSHAOSHA InspectionsSafety & HealthInjury and Illness RecordkeepingConstruction SafetyGeneral Industry SafetyAgriculture SafetyMaritime SafetyFocus AreaUSA
OSHA updates directive on injury, illness recordkeeping
OSHA updated its directive on injury and illness recordkeeping policies and procedures. Part 1904 Recordkeeping Policies and Procedures (CPL 02-00-172) took effect January 13. Although it provides guidance for OSHA’s compliance officers, employers can use the information to help with recordkeeping compliance.
The new directive replaces the December 2004 directive (CPL 02-00-135) and introduces enhanced guidance that aligns the agency’s policies with modern practices and regulatory requirements in an effort to help safety professionals and organizations maintain compliance and accurately document workplace safety incidents. Key updates include:
- Improved guidance to help OSHA compliance officers assess workplace injury and illness records;
- Updated inspection procedures and citation policies; and
- Added information regarding employees’ rights to report Injuries and Illnesses free from retaliation.
The updated directive can be found on OSHA’s enforcement webpage.
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Copyright 2025 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.