OSHA to Change Lockout/Tagout and 17 Other Rules The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing 18 changes to the agency’s recordkeeping, general industry, maritime, and construction standards. OSHA says this is part of “an ongoing effort to revise provisions in its standards that may be confusing, outdated, or unnecessary.” Perhaps the most significant, and controversial, is a proposed change to the current Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Standard (29 C.F.R. § 1910.147), which covers the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment wherein the unexpected energization or startup of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy, could harm employees. This standard establishes minimum performance requirements for the control of such hazardous energy. OSHA is proposing to remove the word “unexpected” from the phrase “unexpected energization.” OSHA believes the term ‘‘unexpected’’ has been misinterpreted to exclude some operations where employees are subject to injury from startup or the release of stored energy. Opponents argue that the proposed change will make the use of alternative methods more difficult for employers because OSHA will require lockout for all energy sources. Also among the 18 proposed rule changes is a clarification of the personal protective equipment (PPE) standard. This standard currently states that PPE ‘‘shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary.’’ PPE must fit properly to provide adequate protection to employees. According to OSHA, this can be a particular issue for small-statured construction workers, including some females, who may not be able to use standard-sized PPE. While the standard implicitly precludes the use of ill-fitting equipment, OSHA plans to make that explicit. New Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Petition Process Effective The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has begun accepting petitions for duty suspensions and reductions pursuant to the new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) process, mtbps.usitc.gov/external. MTBs reduce or suspend duties on imported products. The goal of a MTB is to lower costs by reducing the tariff obligations on products or parts that are imported. Previously, members of Congress would introduce MTBs based on requests received from constituent companies. It was largely an ad hoc process that produced mixed results. Under the new process, petitions are now first made through the ITC, an independent federal agency. The ITC will solicit comments from the public and the administration and conduct its own analysis and then issue a public report to Congress with its analysis and recommendations regarding products that meet the MTB standards. The next step is an examination by the House Ways and Means Committee, which would then draft a MTB proposal for the full Congress to consider. BY HUGH K. WEBSTER Feds Launch Employee Rights Website The White House has launched a beta version of a new website, worker.gov, intended to provide workers with information on their rights and legal remedies under relevant federal laws, including employment and occupational safety and health statutes. The website includes information from several federal agencies, including the Department of Labor, Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board. According to the White House, “Workers need access to information about their rights that responds directly to their challenges,” and “even the best government websites can be difficult to navigate, especially for workers with little knowledge of laws and government agencies.” Part of the genesis of the site is “the simple truth that people do not think about having an ‘FLSA’ or ‘FMLA’ or ‘Title VII’ problem. They just know that they have an unfairness-on-thejob problem.” The current version of the site focuses on a few particular types of workers, such as office employees, day laborers, and workers in restaurants and nail salons, but the plan is to expand the site to include jobs of all kinds. Large Employers Will Have to Report Pay Data According to a new rule issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) beginning in March 2018, private employers (including federal contractors and subcontractors) with 100 or more employees will be required to report certain employee compensation data on the Employer Information Report, commonly known as the EEO-1 report. That form already collects aggregate data about employees’ gender, race or ethnicity, and job category. Pay data will be categorized by sex, race, ethnicity, and job category, and will be used by the EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to initiate investigations of possible pay discrimination. Emergency Pipeline Safety Rule Issued An interim final rule implementing a new emergency authority has been issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The rule sets up a process for PHMSA to issue emergency orders to pipeline operators to address unsafe conditions or imminent hazards. DOD Seeks to Limit Foreign Access to Technical Data A proposed rule by the Department of Defense prescribes procedures for the dissemination and withholding of certain unclassified technical data and technology subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations. Applicable to Defense agencies, and their contractors and grantees, this proposed rule is meant to control the transfer of technical data and technology that has military or aerospace applications. WASHINGTON WATCHWORD HUGH K. WEBSTER, AWS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS OFFICE — Contact the AWS Washington Government Affairs Office at 1747 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20006; email hwebster@wcb. com; FAX (202) 8350243. 10 WELDING JOURNAL / DECEMBER 2016 WJ
Welding Journal | December 2016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above