EHS Professional – April 18, 2024

IHMM Enters Its 40th Year

On December 3, 1984 the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management was created with the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager® [CHMM®] credential.  John H. Frick, Harold M. Gordon, John J. McCambridge, and Richard A. Young created what would become an Institute that offers 11 professional credentials across Hazardous Materials/Dangerous Goods and EHS Work Place Safety communities of practice in all 50 of the United States and 85 other countries.

IHMM thanks its hundreds of volunteer leaders, thousands of certificants and companies who support IHMM through strengthening its ability to extend its reach and allow us all to live up to why we exist our vision, and our mission…

Why We Exist

Our Vision

Our Mission

IHMM Organizing Broader Government Affairs Activities – Call for Volunteers

In strategic planning on August 17, 2023 IHMM created a strategic imperative to create a broader government affairs operation on behalf of, and with the assistance of, all of IHMM’s certificants.

If you want to make a difference in the recognition of your credentials and build on the successful record we have achieved thus far – we need you to volunteer. Learn more by visiting our Government Affairs Committee page, and get involved with government affairs. You can volunteer for one, two, three or all four of the segments of the committee’s work. That’s up to you!

Beltway Buzz – Ogletree Deakins

DOL OT Rule Imminent. On April 10, 2024, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs completed its review of the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule that makes changes to the overtime regulations implementing the Fair Labor Standards Act. This means that the new rule could be published any day now. As a reminder, the proposed regulation increased the salary basis threshold to at least $55,068 per year.

U.S. Senate Sends Joint-Employer Rescission to POTUS. On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to approve a Congressional Review Act resolution rescinding the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) joint-employer rule. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Angus King (I-ME) voted with Republicans to rescind the rule that NLRB Member Marvin Kaplan described as “an unprecedented and unwarranted expansion of the Board’s joint-employer doctrine.” The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to rescind the rule back in January 2024. Accordingly, the resolution will head to President Biden’s desk, and the White House has already stated that the president will veto the resolution. But while the president’s expected rejection of Congress may have political ramifications, readers should recall that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas already struck down the Board’s joint-employer rule and reinstated the Board’s 2020 rule.

NLRB: Election Petitions, ULPs Increase. According to a recent National Labor Relations Board press release, both representation petition filings and unfair labor practice (ULP) charges have increased during the first six months of fiscal year (FY) 2024, when compared with the same period in FY 2023. Between October 1, 2023, and March 1, 2024, 1,618 representation petitions were filed, compared to 1,199 during the first half of the previous fiscal year—an increase of 35 percent. According to the press release, this increase “is driven by a spike in employer-filed RM-petitions … accompanied by an uptick in employee-filed RC-petitions” after the Board adopted its new recognition standard. Unfair labor practice charges increased from 9,612 in the first half of FY 2023 to 10,278 in the previous six months—a 7 percent  increase. The press release concludes with the agency bemoaning how underfunded it is, as Congress is in the early stages of FY 2025 funding debates, despite just wrapping up FY 2024 funding several weeks ago.

Fed Agencies Release Joint Statement on AI Enforcement. On April 4, 2024, nine federal agencies, including the Department of Labor (DOL), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Justice, released a “Joint Statement on Enforcement of Civil Rights, Fair Competition, Consumer Protection, and Equal Opportunity Laws in Automated Systems.” The statement, which doesn’t contain any new guidance and simply chronicles previous examples of the signatory agencies’ efforts regarding artificial intelligence, is perhaps meant to serve as a precursor to guidance that is expected later this month from the DOL and other agencies pursuant to President Biden’s October 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence. The statement concludes with the following: “Today, our agencies reiterate our resolve to monitor the development and use of automated systems and promote responsible innovation. We also pledge to vigorously use our collective authorities to protect individuals’ rights regardless of whether legal violations occur through traditional means or advanced technologies.”

NLRB GC Continues to Seek Expanded Remedies. The NLRB’s general counsel has been clear about her intentions to expand the types of remedies available in situations involving unlawful workplace conduct. This week, she issued a memorandum to NLRB Regional Directors explaining that they should seek expanded remedies in cases involving unlawful work rules because “mere rescission of an overbroad, unlawfully promulgated, or unlawfully applied rule or contract term does not expunge discipline imposed under those unlawful provisions or retract related legal enforcement actions, and thus fails to make impacted employees whole.” According to the memorandum, in addition to rescinding an unlawful rule, “Regions should seek settlements that include make-whole relief for employees who were disciplined or subject to legal enforcement as a result of an unlawful work rule or contract term.”

Senate Committee Scrutinizes Arbitration Agreements. On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing entitled, “Small Print, Big Impact: Examining the Effects of Forced Arbitration.” Hearing witnesses and senators—both Democrat and Republican—who oppose arbitration used the hearing to promote existing bills that erode the arbitration process. These bills, which were introduced following passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act in 2022, include the “Protecting Older Americans Act of 2023,” which would prohibit arbitration of age related discrimination clams and is co-sponsored by Republican senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The hearing also covered the Ending Forced Arbitration of Race Discrimination Act of 2023 and the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act .

House Committee Examines Portable Benefits. On April 11, 2024, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing entitled “Unlocking Opportunity: Allowing Independent Contractors to Access Benefits.” As the title implies, the hearing focused on the concept of portable benefits for independent contractors. According to Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (R-CA), pigeon-holing workers into the “employee” or “independent contractor” buckets might not be ideal in the modern economy, and an option moving forward might be to “transition to a new model in which benefits are attached to the worker and not the employer.” While a portable benefits framework on the federal level is likely still a long ways away, this week’s hearing is perhaps a sign of where this debate may be heading.

Professional Certification Coalition

IHMM is a member of the PCC. The PCC monitors state and federal legislative and regulatory activity affecting professional certification on an ongoing basis. The PCC has compiled several “Watchlists” identifying and analyzing provisions in pending legislation at both the state and federal level that, under applicable rules, may still be enacted in the current legislative session.  Depending on the carry-over rules in the relevant legislature, the charts listing current legislation may include bills introduced in a prior year.  In addition, the PCC compiles each year a chart of enacted legislation that affects certification. The charts include hyperlinks to every bill or executive order. Note that the Watchlist and the Enacted Legislation document do not include profession-specific legislation and do not include regulatory initiatives. The charts will be updated as needed based on new developments.

State legislation tracked this week…

• 2023 Accomplishments and 2024 Priorities

Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition

We are thrilled to share that 800 organizations have now joined the Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition!

Our association community created the Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition to advocate for legislation that would help strengthen the economy now and into the future: the bipartisan, bicameral Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (S. 722 / H.R. 1477). This commonsense bill would allow people to use 529 savings plans funds to help pay for job training and credentials, such as licenses and certifications, and shift the 529 paradigm from “college savings plans” to “career savings plans.” Learn more and join the effort today!

Read more here.

Workers Memorial Day Events

Department of Labor releases 2023 injury, illness data

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released 2023 injury and illness data collected under the agency’s new Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulation published July 2023.

The data include specific information submitted by more than 375,000 establishments on OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. It also includes individual injuries and illnesses for employers with 100 or more employees in select high-hazard industries.

In addition, OSHA has posted partial data from more than 850,000 OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report records.

Learn more about OSHA’s injury and illness recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Safe + Sound Week 2024

Safe + Sound Week will be held from August 12-18, 2024.

Registration will open in July. Resources on how to participate will be released in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information! In the meantime, visit the Safe + Sound event archive to view participation from previous years.

NIOSH Mental Health Resources

NIOSH launched an Impact Wellbeing Guide: Taking Action to Improve Healthcare Worker Wellbeing. This Guide offers six concrete Action Steps that hospital leaders can take to accelerate or supplement professional well-being efforts in their hospitals. It was developed in partnership with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation and tested in six CommonSpirit hospitals across the U.S.

Participate in the Fall Stand-Down

The 11^th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction will take place from May 6-10, 2024. Join us to help prevent fall hazards in the workplace by participating in the Stand-Down.

Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is publishing a final rule for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP). This final rule includes requirements for Agency Safety Plans (ASP), Safety Committees, cooperation with frontline transit worker representatives in the development of ASPs, safety risk reduction programs, safety performance targets, de-escalation training for certain transit workers, and addressing infectious diseases through the Safety Management System (SMS) process. This final rule also finalizes revisions to the regulation to coordinate and align with other FTA programs and safety rulemakings.

The effective date of this rule is May 13, 2024.

The final rule is here

Federal Register Notice here

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Ethylene Oxide Emissions Standards for Sterilization Facilities Residual Risk and Technology Review

This action finalizes the residual risk and technology review (RTR) conducted for the Commercial Sterilization Facilities source category regulated under national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) under the Clean Air Act. The EPA is finalizing decisions concerning the RTR, including definitions for affected sources, emission standards for previously unregulated sources, amendments pursuant to the risk review to address ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions from certain sterilization chamber vents (SCVs), aeration room vents (ARVs), chamber exhaust vents (CEVs), and room air emissions, and amendments pursuant to the technology review for certain SCVs and ARVs. In addition, we are taking final action to correct and clarify regulatory provisions related to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), including removing exemptions for periods of SSM. We are also taking final action to require owners and operators to demonstrate compliance through the use of EtO continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS), with exceptions for very small users of EtO; add provisions for electronic reporting of performance test results and other reports; and include other technical revisions to improve consistency and clarity. We estimate that these final amendments will reduce EtO emissions from this source category by approximately 21 tons per year (tpy).

DATES:

This final rule is effective on April 5, 2024. The incorporation by reference (IBR) of certain material listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register April 5, 2024. The incorporation by reference (IBR) of certain other material listed in the rule was approved by the Director of the Federal Register before February 27, 2021.

Federal Register Here

US Department of Labor issues final rule to clarify rights to employee representation during OSHA inspections

The U.S. Department of Labor on March 29th announced a final rule clarifying the rights of employees to authorize a representative to accompany an Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officer during an inspection of their workplace will be published in the Federal Register on April 1.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives the employer and employees the right to authorize a representative to accompany OSHA officials during a workplace inspection. The final rule clarifies that, consistent with the law, workers may authorize another employee to serve as their representative or select a non-employee. For a non-employee representative to accompany the compliance officer in a workplace, they must be reasonably necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection.

The final rule is here

Federal Register Notice here

The rule is effective May 31, 2024

2024 Campus Safety Conference Resource Center

A one-stop shop for everything Campus Safety Conference, including registration deadlines, session info, networking opportunities, and much more.

The 2024 Campus Safety Conference, taking place July 8-10 in Atlanta, will unite safety and security leaders for K-12, higher education, and healthcare campuses to focus on intensive education, hands-on training, peer-to-peer networking, and product showcases over two-and-a-half days.

Now in its 11th year, CSC allows attendees to meet face-to-face with their peers and share lessons learned and promising practices. Our events are collaborative, innovative, and peer-driven, and offer resources and training needed to increase preparedness, communication, and response before, during, and after a variety of safety and security incidents.

Below is an aggregate page for all things CSC24, making a seamless experience for all attendees from pre-show to post-show. We will constantly update this page as more information becomes available!

Read the original article here.

2024 National Safety Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

In advance of the 11^th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction on May 6 – 10, 2024, we want to share several new tools and resources to assist workplaces in preparing for and participating in the Stand-Down, as well as ways to get involved:

• 2024 Fall Stand Down Poster
• 2024 Stand-Down officially announced:
  • February 1, 2024 OSHA QuickTakes

• Resources and Handouts:
  • 2024 Fall Stand-Down Poster (English/Spanish) (also attached)
  • Hardhat Stickers and Hazard Alert Cards

• Get Involved:
  • If you plan to host a free event that is open to the public and want to post your event on OSHA’s webpage, you may submit the event details here or contact your Regional Stand-Down Coordinator to learn more.
  • Do you have fall prevention resources in other languages? We would love to include them in our Fall Prevention Resources: Additional Languages Page. Please send resources to Jessica Bunting: [email protected]

As a reminder, anyone who wants to prevent fall hazards in the workplace can participate in the Stand-Down. Companies can conduct a Safety Stand-Down by taking a break for a toolbox talk or other safety activities such as conducting safety equipment inspections, developing rescue plans, or discussing job-specific hazards. Consider planning a stand-down event that works for your workplace.  See Highlights from Past Stand-Downs.

National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-By Incidents almost here

The fifth annual National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-By Incidents begins April 15, providing employers with opportunities to raise awareness of struck-by hazard recognition and prevention.

The weeklong event – scheduled in conjunction with National Work Zone Awareness Week – kicks off with a livestreamed stand-down at a construction site in Mobile, AL. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

Other planned events include a webinar covering the importance of developing internal traffic control plans in work zones. It’s set for 2 p.m. Eastern on April 18.

Read more here.

STOP TTA Quarterly Meetings (Spring 2024) – STOP Grantees

Join us for a networking event featuring guest speaker Kate Clabaugh, Director of Government Affairs at the National Parent Teacher Association. Kate will discuss the PTA’s collaboration with Everytown for Gun Safety, share insights from a nationwide survey, and address questions on family involvement in school safety. Additionally, Dr. Justin Heinze, Co-Director of the NCSS, will provide valuable insights on program evaluation. Don’t miss this chance to discuss family engagement strategies, access new resources, and network with fellow grantees.  Register Here.

Networking Drop-In

BJA/COPS STOP grantees, join us on 5/15 from 12-1 PM ET or 3-4 PM ET, for our monthly Networking Drop-In session. This informal gathering allows you to connect, pose questions, and engage with fellow individuals involved in school safety initiatives. The sessions are not recorded. A Zoom link will be shared with you prior to the event (note: this link is the same every month). Add to Calendar.

Controls for Workplace Violence

This blog post is based on a presentation given by Eva Glosson at AIHce EXP 2023. An expanded version was published in AIHA’s ebook, Trends and Emerging Issues in OEHS. AIHA Connect 2024 will be held May 20–22 in person at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio, and virtually. To learn more about the keynote sessions, view the conference agenda, or register, visit the conference website.

Incidents of violence in the workplace are becoming more frequent, Eva Glosson explained in their AIHce EXP 2023 session “Last Day On The Job – Occupational Homicide and Workplace Violence.” Glosson cited the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2021, which found that fatal workplace injuries had increased by 8.9 percent since the previous year’s survey. “What happens in the workplace is a reflection of what is happening in the community because the workplace really is a subset of our communities as a whole,” they said.

Read more here.

IHMM Credential Recognition

The highest priority of IHMM’s Government Affairs Committee is the recognition of IHMM’s credentials by government. We have made substantial progress in the two years we have undertaken this endeavor, as outlined in detail here > https://ihmm.org/credential-recognition/

In this project we have 45-in-5, increasing the number of states that recognize IHMM credentials.

• We have already succeeded in 13 states – New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Indiana, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Arkansas, Oklahoma. Ohio, North Dakota, and Georgia. [Red states in the map above]. These are states where IHMM credentials are cited or 40 CFR 312.10 is cited by reference.
• We have partially succeeded in another 16 states – Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. [Orange/Black Stripe states in the map above] These are states where the requirements of an “environmental professional” or QEP are cited that coincide with an IHMM credential so that relatively little work would need to be done to clarify the desired outcome.
• We have 21 states where no reference to an IHMM credential is made in either statute or regulation, nor is there anything defined in the area of an environmental professional. These states will require legislation or regulatory work. [Yellow states in the map above].

in January 2022 Gene Guilford released the 40 CFR § 312.10 EPA regulation that states a private certification that meets or exceeds the requirements of the regulation is an Environmental Professional under the regulation. Here is the crosswalk between the 40 CFR § 312.10 EPA regulation and the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager [CHMM] blueprint. The CHMM meets or exceeds the requirements of an Environmental Professional. 

Here’s what we ask each volunteer to do:

• Watch legislative and regulatory developments in your state that provide an opportunity for us to create amendments or other interventions
• Be willing to speak with regulators and legislators in your area about the recognition efforts we craft together

Modern Day Marine 2024

April 30-May 2, 2024

Visit IHMM at Booth #451

Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC

AIHA Connect 2024

May 20-24, 2024

Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH

AHMP EHS Hazmat Summit

July 14-17, 2024

Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, Kansas City, MO

FET Environment 2024

October 29-31, 2024

Marriott Milwaukee West, Waukesha, WI