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OSHA's new Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) becomes effective July 1, 2010. The Program, which provides for enhanced OSHA fines and penalties for claimed willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations, raises the stakes for employers who may face an OSHA inspection.

Effective July 25, 2007, employers must post a new minimum wage poster in their workplaces, and begin compensating employees at the higher rate. President Bush signed a new law on May 25 increasing the federal minimum wage. The minimum wage increase will take effect incrementally over the next three years. Effective July 24, 2007, the minimum wages becomes $5.85 per hour. On July 24, 2008, the rate increases again to $6.55 per hour. On July 24, 2009, it increases further to $7.25 per ...

Licensed Funeral Directors and Embalmers in Texas may no longer be exempt from receiving overtime wages under recent amendments to and interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Funeral directing firms in Texas that classify funeral directors and embalmers as exempt professionals may subject themselves to claims for back pay, fines, and attorneys fees as a result. For more detailed information, please review the following article, written by Sheehy Serpe & Ware, P.C. shareholder Steve Gr

Do you know if OSHA has targeted your business for an inspection? If not, you may find the answer in OSHA's 2006 Site-Specific Targeting plan (SST)1. The SST lays out what categories of companies OSHA considers high priority targets for safety and health inspections this year. It amounts to a veritable "Most Wanted" list for OSHA Compliance Officers. the following analysis should help businesses assess the likelihood of an SST inspection at their establishment. It is important to note that ...

SIGNIFICANT CASE ALERT Amarillo Court of Appeals reverses $1,576,000 award in an Employers' Liability for Gross Negligence case, holding there was legally insufficient evidence to support the jury's determination that the employer possessed actual subjective awareness of the risk that caused the death of its employee.1 In the latest sign that courts are cognizant of the high standard of proof required in such cases, the Amarillo Court of Appeals recently overturned a verdict in excess ...

Reminder to Employers: Post New Injury/Illness Summaries Today Beginning February 1, 2006, employers must post a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in the prior year. Employers are only required to post the OSHA Summary Form 300A -- not the OSHA 300 Log -- from February 1, 2006 to April 30, 2006. Copies of the OSHA forms 300, 300A and 301 are available for downloading on the OSHA Recordkeeping Web page1. Employers who fail to post these ...

OSHA has recently named the healthcare industry as one of a handful targeted for intensified safety and health inspections in 2005.1 According to this directive, their inspections will focus primarily on ergonomic hazards relating to patient handling, exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials, exposure to tuberculosis and slips, trips, and falls. In fact, nursing and personal care facilities make up the highest concentration of worksites on the targeted list for 2005. In ...

INTRODUCTION Shortly after the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the Act) was adopted in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (the Commission) began having difficulty apportioning responsibility in situations where there was no direct connection between the employer controlling the site, and the employer creating the hazard. Moreover, employers who simply had employees exposed to the hazard, but neither had control over the employees or created the violation ...

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek. Although certain classes of employees are exempt from the FLSA requirements, most employees are entitled to be paid overtime. A ...