WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the appointment of eight new members to the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health. The committee members will serve two-year terms and represent the interests of the public, employers, employees and government.

The 15-member committee meets at least twice a year. The eight newly appointed members will join seven re-appointed members.

Partnership includes UAW, ACH and MIOSHA

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Dr. David Michaels has signed an agreement renewing OSHA's partnership with Ford Motor Co., the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America and Automotive Component Holdings LLC, and welcoming the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a new partner.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced the forthcoming release of a final rule that streamlines and simplifies standards while reducing employer burdens. The rule, which soon will be published in the Federal Register, will help keep OSHA standards up-to-date and better enable employers to comply with their regulatory obligations.

Affirms musculoskeletal disorder should be recorded on OSHA 300 Injury and Illness Log

CICERO, Ill. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued penalties of $1,247,400 to AMD Industries Inc. in Cicero after five unprotected and untrained workers allegedly were required to conduct asbestos removal exposing them to this cancer-causing material.

The company was issued 19 willful and eight serious health citations following an OSHA inspection at its facilities in December 2010, in response to a referral from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a survey of private sector employers as a tool toward better designing future rules, compliance assistance and outreach efforts. As many as 19,000 employers nationwide will receive the Baseline Survey of Safety and Health Practices, which asks questions about workplace safety and health management practices.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration tomorrow will reopen the public record on a proposed rule to revise the Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements regulation. Notice of the reopening will be published May 17 in the Federal Register.

Proposed penalties total $563,000

CHICAGO – A U.S. district court has upheld a subpoena issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration requesting documents from Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co. concerning inspections and reports the company prepared for Haasbach LLC. Two teenage workers were killed in a grain engulfment at Haasbach's Mount Carroll, Ill., site in July 2010.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a nationwide photography contest: Picture It! Safe Workplaces for Everyone. OSHA challenges anyone with a passion for photography to capture an image of workplace safety and health and share it with the agency. The goal of the contest is collaborate with the public – relying on the talent, imagination and creativity of participants – to kick off a national effort to raise awareness about workplace safety and health.

BATESVILLE, Miss. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 33 citations to the Parker Hannifin Corp. plant in Batesville, alleging numerous safety and health violations as the result of an inspection that began November 2010. Proposed penalties total $487,700. Cleveland, Ohio-based Parker Hannifin has 170 facilities throughout the U.S. and manufactures machinery for hydraulics, air conditioning, refrigeration and aerospace systems.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor' Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a final rule to protect the safety and health of shipyard workers, which is published in today' edition of the Federal Register. The rule updates existing requirements to reflect advances in industry practices and technology, and provides new protections from hazards that previously were not addressed, including the control of hazardous energy. It is expected to prevent about 350 serious injuries each year.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today will announce, from Anaheim, Calif., a national outreach initiative by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to educate workers and their employers about the hazards of working outdoors in the heat and steps needed to prevent heat-related illnesses.

Egregious safety violations result in proposed fines of $378,000

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected a challenge by the National Roofing Contractors Association to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's December 2010 directive on the use of fall protection in residential construction. The directive withdrew an earlier one that allowed certain residential construction employers to bypass some fall protection requirements.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is issuing a hazard alert to hair salon owners and workers about potential formaldehyde exposure from working with some hair smoothing and straightening products.

First meeting to be held April 19-20, open to public

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the appointment of 15 new members to the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, which will hold an open meeting on April 19 and 20 at the U.S. Department of Labor's headquarters in Washington.

BISMARCK, N.D. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited North Central Farmers Elevator in Ipswich, S.D., with six willful violations for exposing workers to being engulfed by grain. Proposed penalties total $378,000.

INGLESIDE, Texas The U.S. Department of Labor s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recognized the employees and management of Basic Industries Ltd. at Kiewit Offshore Services in Ingleside for achieving three years of excellence in the company s employee safety and health program. The Basic Industries facility has been designated as a star site in OSHA s Voluntary Protection Programs. Basic Industries is to be commended for demonstrating excellence in effective safety and health management, said William A.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today applauded a ruling by Chief Administrative Law Judge Covette Rooney of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission upholding the citation and full penalty issued to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management following a November 2008 trampling death of a worker at one of the company's retail locations in New York.