Archive for: Popular
Ask the Expert—Non-scents in the workplace, or when the smell of co-workers makes you sick
Q: Some of our employees wear perfume at work, which results in headaches or allergic reactions for some staff members. Is there an OSHA rule for this?
A: When your employer makes you sick, that could be an OSHA matter. But when your co-workers make you sick—by their choices of fragrance and personal-care products— it’s not as clear cut.
OSHA Obama-gram
Although it was not a hot campaign item by either party, in the wake of the presidential election, lots of safety experts and OSHA watchers have speculated as to what the Obama administration will mean to OSHA.
Conventional wisdom says that OSHA is more active under a Democrat administration. As critics of the current administration like to point out, fewer OSHA standards have been promulgated under President Bush than any of his predecessors since the OSHA Act became law in 1970. In case you forgot, that was under President Nixon.
Most of the prognosticators point to more energetic enforcement—meaning more inspections, higher fines, maybe even criminal penalties for egregious violations—the approval of new standards, additional funding for training, and the resurrection of the ergonomic standard, albeit in a different form.
Just for fun, imagine you have a direct line to the President-elect’s ear. What OSHA changes would you suggest specific to healthcare?
