OSHA Updates
The Minnesota Legislature made a number of changes this year that affect workplace health and safety:
Penalties will increase to conform with federal penalties. The maximum penalty is now $15,625 for both serious and non-serious violations (it was $7,000). Minnesota still provides a credit of up to 95% depending on the size of your business, your good faith effort, and having no history of previously being cited for the same violation.
Safety committees: Even if you’re a very small company, you may now need to have a safety committee. Any company that falls under the requirement to have an A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction Program (AWAIR) and any public employer (such as cities), regardless of size, is required to have a safety committee as of July 1. Any company with 25 or more employees is required to have a joint labor-management safety committee.
Who is required to have an AWAIR program? Currently covered industries include:
- agriculture
- utilities (from solar power to waste treatment)
- construction
- manufacturing
- wholesale trades (including motor vehicle suppliers)
- some retail trades (auto and tire dealers, boat dealers)
- transportation and warehousing
- janitorial and landscaping services
- health care
- arts and entertainment (such as theater and dance companies, sports teams, museums)
- automotive repair and car washes
A comprehensive list can be found here.
How Do You Create a Safety Committee?
- Meet regularly with employees. If you are a very small company (under 25 employees) you may just incorporate this into your shop or department meetings.
- Get input from employees—what are the hazards they are seeing or they are concerned about? Management needs to be represented so the hazards can get addressed.
- Keep a record of the meeting. What was discussed? How were any concerns or issues resolved? Who was there? Did you have any work-related injuries? Were there any ideas or actions to be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future?
- If you have 25 or more employees, the safety committee should be more formal, with members chosen by your employees. Determine who will participate in the safety committee so all areas within your organization are represented. The safety committee should conduct site inspections, looking for hazards. Other tasks should include reviewing safety suggestions, addressing workplace hazards, and reviewing injuries to ensure they are investigated. You can find additional information on MNOSHA’s website here, or contact us.
Ergonomics:
Health care facilities, warehouse distribution centers with more than 100 employees and meatpacking facilities now can apply for matching grants for ergonomics improvements. But they also need to develop ergonomics programs and train their employees on how to prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
Other Legislative Updates: Cannabis
If you haven’t heard, adult use of cannabis has been legalized in Minnesota beginning on August 1, 2023. That does not make it legal to be under the influence of marijuana when at work. You will need to determine what your workplace policies will be, keeping the following safety-related things in mind:
- Cannabis use is not legal on a federal level. Anyone who has a CDL falls under federal requirements—it is not legal to use marijuana and CDL holders are still subject to drug testing.
- If an employee works in a safety sensitive position, they may still be subject to drug testing. Safety sensitive positions, according to Minnesota Rules, are those where “an impairment caused by drug or alcohol usage would threaten the health or safety of any person.”
- Employees not in safety sensitive positions generally may not be tested for marijuana, but that does not mean you have to allow them to come to work impaired.
- Drug testing for cannabis is not necessarily an indicator of impairment. There is no test currently that will show if someone is actually impaired. Janet co-authored a great article explaining this, which can be found here.
New Employment Notices
The MN Department of Labor and Industry has new employment notices that must be given to workers. As of July 1, the Nursing Mothers, Lactating Employees and Pregnancy Accommodations notice must be provided to new employees. For more information and copies of all of the notices and posters, go to MNDLI.
Federal OSHA: Leading Indicators
Federal OSHA is working to put together leading indicators for safety as a way to encourage employers to strengthen their overall safety management. They have a web page for leading indicators and developed a booklet on it. Combined with annual goal setting for your safety committee, this mirrors Minnesota’s AWAIR program in many ways (leadership, employee participation, hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, communication).
Summer Heat
We’ve already had spells of 90° plus heat, and it looks like this will continue for the summer. The air quality alerts add to the risk, especially for those who work outdoors. Here are a few safety precautions:
- Allow more time to complete tasks. For most of us, our bodies just function a little slower in the heat and poor air. Allow more frequent breaks.
- If employees are sensitive to the air quality, encourage the use of N95 filtering facepieces. They will filter out most of the particulates.
- Watch out for one another. Watch for signs of heat related concerns.
- Drink plenty of fluids – water and electrolyte replacements like Gatorade. Avoid a lot of caffeinated beverages.
Uniform Survey
Thank you to those who participated in our survey asking about work uniforms. Very few companies are happy with their service providers, with several people saying they’ve switched because service was so bad, or they accept poor service because they don’t believe the next provider will be any better.
Uniform companies being used included: Cintas, Unifirst, Aramark, Galls, and City Laundry. City Laundry had the best review overall. Common problems with other companies included lost uniforms, wrong alterations, billing issues, wrong uniforms, late or no delivery, and the condition of the uniforms. Kind of sad that the best that could be said was “just ok”.
Contact Eleanor if you want the survey results: ekernkamp@chess-safety.com
This ‘n’ That
CHESS turned 30! Hard to believe it has been 30 years since we incorporated the company. We continue to be grateful for the clients we work with and appreciate all of the employees and interns who have been part of our history. CHESS was one of the first woman-owned safety consulting companies in Minnesota, with Janet Keyes as one of only a very few female industrial hygienists working as a consultant.