OSHA NEws November 2025

OSHA News for November 2025 Hello, Here are a few options for your newsletter intro. I spent many hours this month creating daily BCSP quizzes. I cover a topic every day and provide three knowledge checks. This allows those studying for certification to learn more about a specific topic rather than just getting a general overview. Here is one on ISO 45001. https://youtu.be/47Y_1e3yfB8 This month’s deposition involved another large case between a $60 billion owner, a $750 million logistics company, and a fatality involving a truck driver. It is another multi-employer case. I doubt the case will go to trial because the two big entities are subtly blaming each other. New OSHA Head Dave Keeling is back in the OSHA building and working with the staff following the return from the shutdown. This month’s PowerPoint is on Hoisting Personnel via Cranes. I added to the crane class, as I am seeing more and more people being lifted by suspended platforms. NIU received an OSHA Harwood Grant to teach Confined Space, Machine Guarding, Lockout, Fire Protection, PPE, and Warehouse Safety. The Construction Safety Council also received a grant to teach Silica, Fall Protection, and Electrical. I want to thank the 20 Amazon Safety professionals for attending my NSEC ASP/CSP prep class this month. Good luck! I identified 182 fall deaths in the 25 federal states for 2024, down slightly from 189 last year. Ladder deaths dropped from 41 last year to 21 this year. Roofs led the way with 35 deaths. OSHA has combined the Seattle and San Francisco Regions into a large San Francisco Region. I did an hour-long podcast with Steve Lindley of Ozinga. It was a great conversation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uYAQ19nc40&t=22s We had 22 people get certified in November. With winter here, focus on protecting your outdoor and exposed indoor workers from cold stress: • Cold-Related Illnesses: Remember to train workers on the symptoms of hypothermia, frostbite, and trench foot. • Best Practices: Emphasize the importance of wearing waterproof, insulated boots and layers of clothing, and moving to warmer locations during breaks. Implement a buddy system to monitor workers for signs of cold stress. John OSHA News Update New PPE Construction Rule 1. A major final rule update is taking effect soon. The revised Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) rule for Construction has an effective date of January 13, 2025. • The Mandate: The rule mandates that all PPE used in construction must "properly fit" each affected employee. • The Impact: This change addresses long-standing concerns—particularly for women and workers with diverse body types—where ill-fitting equipment compromises safety and increases injury risk. • Action Item: Now is the time to assess your current PPE inventory and engage with suppliers to ensure you have a range of sizes to fully accommodate your 2. OSHA continues to issue massive penalties for LOTO failures, emphasizing its severity: • $1 Million+ Fine: The U.S. Department of Labor recently proposed a fine of more than $1 million to a New Jersey vegetable processing facility following a worker fatality. The citations were for willfully and repeatedly violating LOTO (Control of Hazardous Energy) safety requirements. LOTO remains a critical hazard area where enforcement is absolute. Inspectors determined that Taylor Farms, a subsidiary of Taylor Fresh Foods Inc., failed to implement proper lockout/tagout procedures to protect workers from severe injuries during sanitation activities. 3. A recent industry survey revealed a significant shift in what workers view as their biggest safety concerns: • New Priorities: Workers now rank health outbreaks and mental health crises or burnout as higher safety concerns than physical injury on the job. • The Shift: This highlights the changing definition of workplace safety, which now includes the emotional and mental well-being of the workforce. Safety professionals must prepare to integrate mental health support into core occupational health programs. 4. The NIU received an OSHA Harwood Grant to teach Confined Space, Machine Guarding, Lockout, Fire Protection, PPE and Warehouse Safety. https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_25F50SH000208_1601 5. Top cited OSHA standards in 21 hashtag#state hashtag#plans (2023-2024): 1. Alaska - Electrical - Space About Electrical Equipment 2. Arizona - Hazard Communication - Training 3. California - Injury and Illness Prevention Program 4. Hawaii - Fall Protection (Residential Construction) 5. Indiana - Machine Guarding 6. Iowa - Forms - OSHA 300 Log 7. Kentucky - Obligations of Employers 8. Maryland - Fall Protection - Certification of Training 9. Michigan - Accident Prevention Program 10. Minnesota - Work Place Programs 11. Nevada - Machine Guarding - Types of Guarding 12. New Mexico - Portable Extinguisher - Monthly Visual Inspection 13. North Carolina - Fall Protection (Residential Construction) 14. Oregon - Safety Committees and Safety Meetings 15. South Carolina - Fall Protection - Unprotected Sides and Edges 16. Tennessee - Hazard Communication - Written Program 17. Utah - Reporting Requirements 18. Vermont - Fall Protection - Training Program 19. Virginia - Medical Services and First Aid 20. Washington - Fall Protection (Residential Construction) 21. Wyoming - Fall Protection - Training Program Other News 1) 146 died in Hong Kong Fire. Scaffold and debris netting caught on fire. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp34yk7z6yxo 2) Worker died when car came off a lift in Waukegan. https://abc7chicago.com/post/man-dies-being-crush-vehicle-wauconda-auto-repair-shop-hard-times-liberty-street-police-say/18208956/ 3) he family of 20-year-old Amber Czech held her funeral this weekend, after her coworker allegedly beat her to death earlier this month. David Delong, 40, faces second-degree murder charges in her death for allegedly hitting her with a sledgehammer at their workplace, a manufacturing facility in Cokato. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/11/24/amber-czech-killing-judge-orders-mental-evaluation 4) Worker dies in MA trench Collapse https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/11/18/workers-trapped-in-yarmouth-trench-collapse/?amp=1 5) Man dies in workplace accident at Clinton nuclear power plant CLINTON, IL (25News Now) – A man was killed on Friday while working on an electrical transformer at the Clinton Clean Energy Center in DeWitt County. Deputy Coroner David Allhands told 25News the man, believed to be in his late 20s, was electrocuted and pronounced dead at the scene. Plant owner Constellation Energy Corporation released a statement saying the man was employed by a contractor. Samuel Ward, 29, of Decatur, was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:45 p.m. In a news release, Rice said an autopsy was scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17. The incident happened about 2 p.m. 6) ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) -Over 300 people attended a town hall meeting Tuesday night at the Spencer Road Library branch in St. Peters to discuss eligibility for compensation through the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). The RECA legislation, passed by Congress earlier this year, compensates people sickened by exposure to radioactive material from nuclear bomb tests, uranium mining or Manhattan Project waste improperly stored in the St. Louis region. For years, uranium was processed for nuclear weapons at a site in Weldon Spring. That location is now an EPA Superfund site. https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/10/15/town-hall-informs-st-charles-residents-about-eligibility-reca/ 7) Post office worker found dead in a mailing machine in Michigan https://www.foxnews.com/us/usps-worker-found-dead-inside-mailing-machine-michigan-deeply-saddened-loss 8. A fiery MD-11 plane crash on November 4 in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people and injured at least 23 when the left engine detached during takeoff. Cargo carriers grounded their McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleets shortly after, ahead of a directive from the FAA. https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/us/ups-planes-grounded-crash-delivery-season-hnk 9) Ken Kolosh of NSC - Forklift-related injuries are also cross-categorized by event type, most often as either a transportation incident or contact with object or equipment incident. Forklifts were the source of 67 work-related deaths in 2023 and 24,960 DART cases that include 15,480 DAFW cases in 2021-2022. OSHA CITATIONS 6/20/2025 No updates Safety Training at Non-Profits (Check Sites for Starting Dates) OSHA 510 CSC Virtual Dec 8-11 OSHA 502 CSC Dec 15-17 OSHA 7215 CSC Nov 12 NIU 4 Hour Safety Management Nov 22 NIU is Northern Illinois University OSHA Education Center http://www.nsec.niu.edu CSC is the Construction Safety Council in Hillside. Www.Buildsafe.org TRMA is Three Rivers Manufacturers Association www.trma.org I usually teach only 10-hour and the 500 series. I have taught 2460 people this year. I teach evenings, weekends, and early mornings too. I teach in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Indiana. The PowerPoint is posted free at usmwf.org. https://www.usmwf.org/powerpoints-and-safety-information.html I use your feedback to make changes to make corrections. -- John Newquist 815-354-6853

OSHA News October 2025

OSHA News for October 2025 Hello, It was non stop legal this month. An 8 hour Deposition and two reports covering cases of thousands of pages were highlights this month. Another tough deposition awaits this month. The Facebook algorithm banned me saying I violated terms of service. I moved everything to Linked in and YouTube. Safety really belonged on LinkedIn. I have been able to bring 5000 of my Facebook safety professionals to LinkedIn now. I finished a great ASP/CSP prep class over 5 days for Amazon in October.. They will have over 100 certified safety professionals by the end of 2026. VT rated the top helmets for safety. Milwaukee and others were #1. https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/construction-helmet-ratings.html $32 million slip and fall verdict at Exxon Mobil Joliet. https://101theeagle.com/illinois-truck-driver-injury-lawsuit/ Jonathan Snare joins the OSHA Review commission. He was head of OSHA 20 years ago. Construction security is the ppt for the month. With the price of tools running in the hundreds and copper over $5 a pound, the thefts are tempting for an unguarded construction site. We had 29 get certified in October. Happy Thanksgiving. Moderation! John OSHA News Update 1. David Keeling Confirmed as New OSHA Head David Keeling has been confirmed as the new head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Keeling, a former safety executive at Amazon and UPS, is expected to bring a business-friendly approach, prioritizing cooperation with employers. Under his leadership, experts anticipate the agency will finalize a national heat safety rule, likely in a more flexible format. This shift is also expected to narrow the use of OSHA's "general duty" enforcement clause, a prospect that concerns worker advocates about the agency's ability to hold companies accountable for complex hazards like ergonomics. 2. OSHA Revises Enforcement Manual to Reduce Penalties for Small Businesses On July 14, 2025, Assistant Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling announced significant revisions to OSHA’s Field Operations Manual (FOM), primarily focusing on penalty reductions for small employers. These changes significantly expand eligibility and increase the maximum available penalty cuts: Key Changes to Penalty Reductions • Expanded Small Employer Eligibility: The eligibility threshold for penalty reductions has been substantially raised. For most violations, employers with up to 25 employees are now eligible for up to a 70 percent reduction in penalties. Previously, this reduction was available only to employers with 10 or fewer employees. • Increased Willful Violation Reduction: For the most severe (willful-serious) violations, the penalty reduction can be as high as 80 percent for those with 20 or fewer employees. A sliding scale is available for employers with up to 50 employees. The FOM revisions introduce several new or revised penalty reduction incentives: • Safety and Health Management Systems (SHMS): Small employers can receive up to a 25 percent penalty reduction for demonstrating effective SHMS, even if the system is not fully documented in writing. A 15 percent reduction is available for systems found to have only minor deficiencies. • Clean History: Employers with a clean inspection history over the past five years, or those who have never been inspected, are eligible for a 20 percent reduction. This reduction, however, can be withheld at the area director’s discretion in certain cases, such as recent serious violations. • Immediate Correction: Small employers can receive a 15 percent penalty reduction if they immediately and permanently correct hazards identified during an inspection. This incentive applies to other-than-serious, low-gravity serious, and moderate-gravity serious violations, but it is not available for high-gravity, willful, or repeated Other News 1. Three hurt at JFK airport construction. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/3-hospitalized-jfk-airport-construction-195014862.html 2. Remote workers have less injuries. https://www.ncci.com/Articles/Documents/Remote-Work-and-Workers-Compensation-Frequency.pdf 3. H2S killed the six workers at the dairy farm in August. https://www.foxnews.com/us/coroner-identifies-cause-death-6-who-collapsed-colorado-dairy-farm 4. Concrete collapse in NY hurts four workers. https://pix11.com/news/local-news/construction-workers-fall-through-partially-collapsed-floor-in-brooklyn-officials/ 5. Truck driver electrocuted in IL https://wgntv.com/news/northwest-suburbs/semi-truck-driver-electrocuted-in-mchenry-county-farming-accident/ 6. Worker hurt falling from the scoreboard at the Steeler Stadium. https://abc7chicago.com/post/worker-injured-falling-50-feet-acrisure-stadium-scoreboard-pittsburgh-pennsylvania/18077000/ 7. Boston crane collapses two. https://www.wcvb.com/article/crane-collapse-everett/69149703 8. Worked dies in fall at excavation site. https://abc7ny.com/post/construction-worker-critical-falling-work-site-hudson-yards-nyc/18061681/ 9. Truck Driver in IL killed by train. https://wgntv.com/western-suburbs/crash-involving-train-vehicle-shuts-down-road-in-west-suburbs/ 10. 16 dead in TN explosion https://abcnews.go.com/US/tennessee-explosives-plant-manufacturer-explosion/story?id=126405185 OSHA CITATIONS 6/20/2025 No updates Safety Training at Non-Profits (Check Sites for Starting Dates) OSHA 7205 Health Naperville Nov 17 OSHA 7505 Incident Investigation Nov 18 OSHA 3115 CSC Nov 3-5 OSHA 500 CSC Nov 17-20 OSHA 7215 CSC Nov 12 NIU 4 Hour Fall PRotection Nov 24 NIU is Northern Illinois University OSHA Education Center http://www.nsec.niu.edu CSC is the Construction Safety Council in Hillside. Www.Buildsafe.org TRMA is Three Rivers Manufacturers Association www.trma.org I usually teach only 10-hour and the 500 series. I have taught 2460 people this year. I teach evenings, weekends, and early mornings too. I teach in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Indiana. The PowerPoint is posted free at usmwf.org. https://www.usmwf.org/powerpoints-and-safety-information.html I use your feedback to make changes to make corrections. -- John Newquist 815-354-6853