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Tainted history

Marijuana rescheduling was proposed by the Department of Justice in May 2024. The proposal looked at moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, placing marijuana in the same classification as prescription drugs.

Hearings on the proposal were scheduled to begin in December 2024 and then early 2025. They have been stayed since January 13, 2025, when Judge John J. Mulrooney granted a pending appeal from proponents of marijuana rescheduling.

They alleged that the proceedings had been tainted because of improper communications by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with those who had a stake in the case.

Marijuana not a priority

With the appeal pending, Mulrooney oversaw some procedural motions, but no new hearing dates were set.

When Mulrooney, the DEA’s chief administrative law judge, retired on August 1, he pointed out that the Controlled Substances Act requires an administrative law judge to preside over DEA administrative enforcement hearing proceedings. Until a judge is appointed, all matters filed in the case are forwarded to DEA Administrator Terrence C. Cole.

Cole was sworn in as administrator on July 23, but did not mention marijuana rescheduling in a news release listing his priorities.

Workplace considerations

While the issue remains unsettled, employers should:

Be prepared to update their drug and alcohol policy if marijuana reclassification makes a comeback. If it is reclassified to a lower drug schedule, it may need to be treated as a prescription drug.

Continue to follow state laws. Each state law is a little different, but a law may restrict drug testing, protect off-duty use, or prohibit discrimination against individuals who use marijuana. Employers should understand a law’s restrictions.

Consider accommodation requests for medical marijuana patients. Even if off-duty medical marijuana use is not an option, other accommodations for the employee’s underlying medical condition should be considered.

Key to remember: The federal rescheduling of marijuana has stalled, but employers still need to follow state marijuana laws and should be prepared for the issue to resurface.

Recruiting and retention

As a safety professional, you aren’t satisfied with a safety record that is “good enough.” You want to eliminate hazards to prevent all injuries. Achieving an exemplary safety record and highlighting that achievement could become part of a recruiting and retention strategy.

To attract job applicants, employers must set themselves apart. Job candidates expect certain benefits like health insurance, but they also want to work for a company that cares about employees. Promoting your emphasis on safety could help attract job seekers. They won’t be impressed by an “average” safety record.

As a bonus, a renewed safety focus could also increase employee retention, reducing the need (and cost) to find and train replacements. Further, employees who feel valued and connected to their employer are typically more productive.

Avoid production disruptions

While safety should be a value because protecting employees is the right thing to do, showing the costs of injuries (and savings from improvements) may help you gain support.

Safe work practices should not inhibit production, but injuries can disrupt production in addition to the costs of medical treatment and lost work time. A serious incident that requires a trip to the hospital may require stopping production to treat the injured worker. Further, an in-patient hospitalization must be reported to OSHA and could generate an inspection, taking more time away from other priorities. A serious injury can also negatively impact the morale of other workers and result in negative media coverage that affects the company’s reputation.

Many of these costs can be measured (how much does each hour of lost productivity cost?) but costs like damage to reputation are harder to assign a dollar value. A stronger focus on safety could avoid those issues.

Safety is profitable

Finally, the number and severity of injuries affect your workers’ compensation rates. Improving safety can result in substantial savings. Since workers’ comp uses a three-year claim history, a serious incident affects your rates for the next several years. The savings from an improved safety record may take a couple of years to materialize, but cutting those costs means more money in the profit column. To illustrate, if your company has a 10 percent profit margin and decreases workers’ compensation premiums by $15,000 per year, that’s the equivalent profit from $150,000 in sales.

By laying out the costs of injuries and the benefits of safety improvements, you may have a better chance of making safety a core company value, and increase your chances of securing resources for safety initiatives.

What Is the General Duty Clause?

The GDC is part of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. It requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This includes ergonomic hazards, even though OSHA doesn’t have a specific ergonomics standard.

In simple terms, if a hazard is known (like repetitive strain from poor workstation setup), and it can cause serious harm, and there’s a reasonable way to fix it, then you’re expected to take action.

How does ergonomics fit in?

OSHA recognizes several types of ergonomic hazards that can pose serious risks to workers' health and safety. These hazards often arise from the way tasks are designed and performed, especially when they involve repetitive or physically demanding activities including:

• Repetitive motions: Tasks that require the same movement over and over, such as typing, scanning items, or lifting boxes, can strain muscles and tendons over time. These motions are especially hazardous when performed for long durations without adequate breaks or variation.
• Awkward postures: Working in unnatural or uncomfortable positions, like bending, twisting, reaching overhead, or hunching over a desk, can place stress on the musculoskeletal system. These postures often result from poorly designed workspaces or tools that don’t fit the worker’s body or task requirements.
• Forceful exertions: Activities that require significant physical effort, such as pushing heavy carts, pulling equipment, or gripping tools tightly, can lead to fatigue and injury, particularly when combined with other risk factors like repetition or awkward posture.
• Poor workstation design: Inadequate workstation setup, whether in an office, manufacturing line, or healthcare setting, can contribute to all of the above hazards. For example, a desk that’s too high or a monitor that’s not at eye level can lead to neck and shoulder strain.

These kinds of hazards can lead to injuries like:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome: Pain or numbness in your hands and wrists from repetitive tasks.
• Back pain: Soreness and strain from lifting wrong or working in awkward positions.
• Tendinitis: Inflammation in your joints from overuse.

What does OSHA look for?

Before OSHA can issue a citation under the GDC, they need to check off four key boxes:

• Is there a real hazard? For example, are workers getting hurt from repetitive lifting or awkward postures?
• Is the hazard recognized? This means it’s known to be a problem, either through injury reports, accepted or understood safety guidelines, or industry standards.
• Can it cause serious harm? OSHA looks at whether the hazard could lead to things like missed work, medical treatment, or long-term injuries.
• Is there a feasible fix? If there’s a reasonable way to reduce the risk, like using ergonomic tools or changing how the job is done, OSHA expects employers to implement protective measures.

If all four of these are true and the employer hasn’t done anything to address the issue, OSHA can issue a citation, and possibly a fine.

How can the hazards be eliminated or reduced?

Investing in ergonomic solutions based on hazards is one of the easiest ways to reduce risk. Here are a few examples:

• Adjustable chairs and desks promote neutral posture and reduce strain.
• Anti-fatigue mats which help reduce leg and back stress for standing workers.
• Lift-assistance devices to reduce the need for manual lifting.
• Ergonomic keyboards and mice can lower the risk of wrist and hand injuries.
• Workstation redesign tailored to fit the worker, rather than expecting workers to fit their workstation.

What is my role as a supervisor?

As a supervisor, you play a key role in keeping your team safe, healthy, and comfortable on the job. You don’t need to be an ergonomics expert, but you do need to be aware, responsive, and proactive. Here’s what that looks like:

• Spot the risks: Keep an eye out for tasks that involve repetitive movements, awkward postures, or heavy lifting. If something looks uncomfortable or inefficient, it probably is.
• Talk about it: Encourage your team to speak up if they’re feeling discomfort or notice a potential hazard. Make it clear that reporting issues is a good thing, not a hassle or complaint.
• Take action: Work with your safety team or EHS staff to find solutions. That might mean adjusting a workstation, rotating tasks, or bringing in ergonomic tools.
• Keep track: Document what you’ve done—training sessions, changes made, and any feedback from your team. This helps show progress and keeps everyone accountable.

And most importantly, make sure your team knows what resources and tools are available and how to use them. A little awareness goes a long way in preventing injuries and keeping everyone productive.

Key to remember: If an ergonomic hazard is known and preventable, OSHA expects action. As a supervisor, your role is to assess risks, support your team in reporting issues, and help apply practical solutions like adjusting workstations or using ergonomic tools to keep everyone safe and productive.

Spanish translations prompted by law

The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) has been enacted and reauthorized five times. The latest version (PRIA 5) was signed on December 29, 2022. It amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require Spanish language translation for sections of the end-use pesticide product labels. However, those translations are only required where translation is available in EPA's Spanish Translation Guide for Pesticide Labeling.

Those sections deal with the health and safety of the product. Specifically, the guide has Spanish translations of the:

• “Keep out of reach of children” statement,
• Restricted use pesticide (RUP) statement for restricted use products,
• Misuse statements,
• Signal word,
• First aid section,
• Precautionary statements,
• Personal protective equipment section,
• Engineering controls,
• Environmental hazards,
• Physical or chemical hazards, and
• Storage and disposal statements.

Methods of communicating translations

When a registered pesticide product is released for shipment, PRIA 5 requires translations or a link to translations on the product container. Any link would be via scannable technology or other accessible methods. Antimicrobial pesticide products and non-agricultural/non-RUP products have yet another option. They may provide a link to the Spanish Safety Data Sheets instead of a link to label translations.

Deadlines for translations

PRIA 5 establishes a rolling schedule for the implementation of bilingual labeling. The schedule runs from December 2025 to 2030, with the translations for the most hazardous and toxic pesticide products required first. In fact, EPA is starting with RUPs and agricultural pesticides classified as acute toxicity category I. All end-use pesticide labels must have translations by 2030. 

The dates when bilingual labeling is due are based on pesticide product type:

EPA tracking required

PRIA 5 also requires EPA to develop, implement, and make publicly available a plan for keeping track of the adoption of bilingual labeling. The agency previously proposed and received comments on using the annual paper maintenance fee filing form to track adoption. It would have used a checkbox to indicate whether products included bilingual labeling.

However, EPA has scrapped that approach. It’s now proposing to track adoption through its electronic MyPeST app. In this case, registrants would electronically check a box next to each pesticide product indicating whether it includes the required bilingual labeling. MyPeST would display product information — such as product type and signal word — to help registrants determine their products’ compliance dates.

The agency also wants to add a checkbox to MyPeST to indicate that a pesticide product will not be released for shipment. This helps distinguish between noncompliance and nonapplicable circumstances.

For tracking purposes, registrants would not need to submit the labels to EPA.

EPA seeks comments

Comments on the proposed tracking method must be received on or before September 19, 2025. Send comments to docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2025-0049 at www.regulations.gov. Any comments are welcome, but EPA is particularly looking for examples of how it could reduce this tracking paperwork burden for businesses employing fewer than 25 workers.

The proposed method is anticipated to take 24 hours and cost just over $3,000 per covered entity per year. Entities potentially affected by the notice and comment request include:

• Pesticide importers,
• Pesticide manufacturers, and
• Government establishments responsible for agricultural pest/weed regulation.

Q&As available

EPA says it has also updated its Bilingual Labeling Questions & Answers webpage. Additional questions and answers touch on topics relating to, but not limited to:

• Enforcement,
• Supplemental distributor labels,
• QR codes and websites already on the label, and
• How to handle subsequent label changes. 

This living document now has over 50 Q&As. It will be updated as PRIA 5 requirements and deadlines are met and new information is available.

Key to remember

EPA issued a notice requesting comments by September 19 on how it wants to track the adoption of bilingual labeling. Spanish language translation for sections of the end-use pesticide product labels has a rolling schedule from 2025 to 2030. The agency also updated its Bilingual Labeling Questions & Answers webpage.