Workforce Bulletin

By Forrest G. Read, IV and Eric J. Conn

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) announced earlier this month a new policy disguised as a nod to enhancing employee participation in CSB investigations, but which may actually represent a dramatic limitation in the investigation rights of both employees and employers.  The new policy expands the role of non-management employees in the CSB’s investigations into the causes of chemical accidents that occur at industrial facilities, but does so at the expense of employers’ involvement and employees’ rights.

By ...

By Alexis M. Downs and Eric J. Conn

Employers who operate laboratories are suddenly receiving a high level of attention from federal safety and health regulators.  Following a string of serious laboratory accidents, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (the “CSB”) posted an informational video on its website detailing hazards at chemical laboratories, based on a study of 120 explosions, fires, and chemical releases at university and other research laboratories (view the CSB’s Lab Safety Video here).  At the same time, federal OSHA just published a ...