MANUFACTURING
OSHA Expanding Injury-Prevention Program Guidelines
California companies are required to have programs in place to reduce workplace injuries to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Injury and Illness Prevention Program, which is currently under review for a second phase of the program.
Implementation of OSHA’s I2P2 was recently discussed at a recent American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) workshop, held at the Vans headquarters in Cypress, Calif.
According to employment and labor litigator Stacey D. Adams of Littler Employment & Labor Law Solutions Worldwide, in late 2012, federal agencies issued their unified agendas and regulatory plans, pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which included 10 OSHA regulations at the final rule stage, including the I2P2.
Under the I2P2 guidelines, OSHA will be expanding the definition of contributors to workplace injuries. The I2P2 is looking at employer standards and violations. The I2P2 is scheduled to be issued by the end of 2013.
One of the apparel-related workplace injuries OSHA is looking at concerns clothing-tagging guns, which can spread blood-borne pathogens.
According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, “Cal/OSHA believes garment production or processing facilities where the use of tagging guns is regular, sustained and very frequent must follow the blood-borne pathogen safety standards laid out in section 5193.”
One solution is to issue each employee his or her own tagging gun.
OSHA inspections and citations are expected to be more aggressive. The violation-review period has increased from three to five years, creating a longer review period for willful violations, with the possibility of larger fines. Non-willful citations customarily carry a $1,000 to $1,500 fine, but a second citation can increase the fine up to $70,000.
