Public Meeting
OSHA held a public meeting to solicit comments and suggestions from OSHA stakeholders on key issues facing the agency.Held: March 4, 2010 9:00am - 6:00pm EST
Overview
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a public meeting to solicit comments and suggestions from stakeholders on key issues facing the agency. In particular, the agency invited input on the following:- What can the agency do to enhance and encourage the efforts of employers, workers and unions to identify and address workplace hazards?
- What are the most important emerging or unaddressed health and safety issues in the workplace, and what can OSHA do to address these?
- How can the agency improve its efforts to engage stakeholders in programs and initiatives?
- What specific actions can the agency take to enhance the voice of workers in the workplace, particularly workers who are hard to reach, do not have ready access to information about hazards or their rights, or are afraid to exercise their rights?
- Are there additional measures to improve the effectiveness of the agency's current compliance assistance efforts and the on site consultation program, to ensure that small businesses have the information needed to provide safe workplaces?
- Given the length and difficulty of the current OSHA rulemaking process, and given the need for new standards that will protect workers from unaddressed, inadequately addressed and emerging hazards, are there policies and procedures that will decrease the time to issue final standards so that OSHA may implement needed protections in a timely manner?
- As we continue to progress through a new information age vastly different from the environment in which OSHA was created, what new mechanisms or tools can the agency use to more effectively reach high risk employees and employers with training, education and outreach? What is OSHA doing now that may no longer be necessary?
- Are there indicators, other than worksite injuries and illness logs, that OSHA can use to enhance resource targeting?
- In the late 1980s, OSHA and its stakeholders worked together to update the Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) (exposure limits for hazardous substances; most adopted in 1971), but the effort was unsuccessful. Should updating the PELs be a priority for the agency? Are there suggestions for ways to update the PELs, or other ways to control workplace chemical exposures?
Meeting Agenda
9 a.m. Welcome and Introductory Comments David Michaels, Assistant Secretary, OSHA Deborah Berkowitz, Chief of Staff, OSHA 9:10-9:50 Panel 1 Tonya Ford, Uncle killed at ADM facility in 2009 Katherine Rodriguez, Father killed at British Petroleum in 2004 Wanda Morillo, Husband killed in a NJ industrial explosion in 2005 Celeste Monforton, American Public Health Association Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization 9:50-10:30 Panel 2 Marc Freedman, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Keith Smith, National Association of Manufacturers Frank White, ORC Stephen Sandherr, Association of General Contractors 10:30-10:40 Break 10:40-11:20 Panel 3 Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO Scott Schneider, Laborers' Health and Safety Fund Mike Wright, United Steel Workers 11:20-11:50 Panel 4 Chris Patton, American Society for Safety Engineers Katharine Kirkland, Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics Aaron Trippler, American Industrial Hygiene Association 11:50-12:30 Panel 5 Kathleen McPhaul, American Public Health Association, Univ. of Maryland Nursing Hestor Lipscomb, Duke University Medical School Rick Neitzel, National Hearing Conservation Association Matt Schudtz, Center for Progressive Reform 12:30-1:30 Lunch 1:30-2:00 Panel 6 Karen Harned, Nat'l Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Legal Center Cynthia Hilton, Institute of Makers of Explosives Subhash C. Vaidya, Navistar, Inc. 2:00-2:30 Panel 7 Andrew Youpel, Brandenburg Industrial Service Company Robert Matuga, National Association of Home Builders Tom Broderick, Construction Safety Council 2:30-3:00 Panel 8 Don Villarejo, California Institute for Rural Studies Luzdary Giraldo, NY Committee for Occupational Safety and Health Roger Cook/Peter Dooley, Western NY Council on Occupational Safety and Health 3:00-3:40 Panel 9 Rick Engler, NJ Work Environmental Council Tom O'Connor, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Norman Pflanz, Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law Chris Trahan, Building and Construction Trades Department 3:40-3:50 Break 3:50-4:10 Panel 10 John Masarick, Independent Electrical Contractors Davis Layne, VPPPA 4:10-4:40 Panel 11 Bruce Lapham, Valcourt Building Services, LC Marc Kolanz, Brush Wellman Inc. 4:40-5:10 Panel 12 Pamela Vossenas, Unite Here! International John Morawetz, International Chemical Workers Union Council Dinkar Mokadam/Chris Witkowski, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA 5:10-5:50 Panel 13 Rick Inclima, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Jason Zuckerman, Employment Law Group Richard Renner, National Whistleblowers Center
Meeting Transcripts and Written Comments
Transcripts from the meeting are now available: for Panels 1-5 for Panels 6-9 for Panels 10-13The following remarks and comments are also available from the public meeting. The written comment period closes March 30.
- An alphabetic summary of written comments received through March 3rd
- Written remarks from the public meeting on March 4th.
- An alphabetic listing of written comments received between March 4th and 31st.
- Both written remarks from March 4th and written comments received through March 3 are now included in Docket no. OSHA-2010-0004 on Regulations.gov
Resources
- News Release, January 15, 2010, US Department of Labor
- Federal Register, January 19, 2010, US Department of Labor