OSHA News August 2026

OSHA News for September 2026 Hello everyone, A busy last week with a 3 day STSC prep class and Friday night ASSP Incident Investigation class. Add a 213F legasl report that had to get done. This month’s PowerPoint is the intro STSC. The STSC prep class was to a Chicago General Contractor and all were the foreman on the various sites. I think we are seeing the move beyond and the OSHA 30. Integrating the safety and the people moving the project should result in better safety performance out there. The tornados in August got close. I was in the class when the sirens went off in Wheaton. The place had a concrete wall kitchen for their emergency shelter. Illinois is over 200 Tornados. Foreman lashing out at OSHA. Twice in 3 months. The foreman's emotional reaction can be driven by severe stress, fear of personal failure, and an instinctive threat response to a high-stakes situation. In high-pressure moments like an unannounced OSHA inspection, the brain can experience what psychologists call an "amygdala hijack." The foreman likely perceives the inspector not just as an auditor, but as a direct threat to their job, their financial security, and their professional reputation. When overwhelmed by this level of anxiety, a person's logical thinking shuts down, forcing them into a fight-or-flight state. Lashing out is the "fight" response, while failing to notify the safety team is a form of avoidance, or the "flight/freeze" response, driven by the mistaken belief that ignoring the problem might make it go away or delay the consequences. Companies can implement pre-planned OSHA checklists and role-playing exercises to help employees manage panic during unexpected inspections. I included an early version of the OSHA Inspection Checklist. 471 people have told me they passed a BCSP in the first 8 months of the year. John OSHA News Update 1. CSB Discovers that Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company Was Told in July 2025 that the Tank Was Not Fit for Continued Service and Could Fail https://lnkd.in/gyNF5Ky2 2. North Carolina OSHA ends penalty reductions in fatal workplace cases The Directive: Labor Commissioner Luke Farley ordered that penalties for safety violations acting as a proximate cause of a workplace fatality will no longer be adjusted or reduced. The "Death Discount": Previously, the North Carolina Department of Labor mirrored a federal OSHA practice that cut penalties by up to 70% depending on business size. Impact: Small and large businesses now face full, unreduced penalties if a safety violation leads directly to a worker fatality. Farley noted that support for small businesses should come via education and outreach rather than reduced accountability for fatal negligence. 3. Workers warned Ohio trench was too deep but were told to enter minutes before fatal cave-in: report | Fox News Workers warned the Ohio trench was too deep before the cave-in that killed Jose Alberto Barajas Martinez, but OSHA says they were told to enter anyway, a report says. | Fox News https://lnkd.in/gDimQJcW 4. OSHA's Chicago Region extended its OSHA Instruction CPL 04-00-27 Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for Exposure to Noise Hazards in the Workplace issued on June 1, 2021, due to expire on May 31, 2026, until December 31, 2026 or until superseded by an updated directive. 5. Other safety News 1. Man Charged with Murder After Explosion at Oklahoma Marijuana Facility Kills 2 https://lnkd.in/g3PcG952 2. Will IL follow? Under Ohio Revised Code § 2745.01, a worker or their family can only sue an employer outside of workers' comp if they can prove an intentional tort. Deliberate Intent Required: The law requires proof that the employer acted with a conscious, deliberate intent to cause injury or death. The Bar is Extremely High: Ohio courts have ruled that "gross, wanton, willful, deliberate, intentional, reckless, or malicious negligence" does not suffice to meet this standard unless there is a specific, purposeful intent to inflict harm. Statutory Presumptions: Deliberate intent can only be legally presumed in very specific scenarios, such as the deliberate removal of an equipment safety guard or the deliberate misrepresentation of a toxic/hazardous substance. 3. Chemical Plant explosion in Sauget IL. https://lnkd.in/gYnRNiGP 4. NYC passed a heat rule protecting workers. https://lnkd.in/gZmaRm9b 5. Connecticut worker at quarry dies while running construction equipment Update: Man Dies After Being Hit By Boulder In Seymour - Valley Independent Sentinel https://lnkd.in/g_YFKKCU 6. unknown Contractor seriously hurt after being shocked in Gurnee, fire dept. says https://lnkd.in/g3B8cf7C 7. Two dead and recycling plan explosion in Ohio. https://lnkd.in/gJJPtXhp 8. 28-year-old father of 6 Jonathan Stepp killed while working at Cleveland Cliffs Burns Harbor steel plant in NW Indiana: union | abc7chicago.com https://lnkd.in/gJmh6NVh 9. OSHA CITATIONS 6/20/2025 This is discontinued Safety Training at Non-Profits (Check Sites for Starting Dates) OSHA 3015 CSC Excavation Sep 10 OSHA 500 CSC Sep 15 -18 Osha 7845 recordkeeping Sep 11 NUI Naperville ASSP Conference #1 SIF and 47% problem Sep 14 Niu Naperville Harwood Grant Silica Sep 29 2026 CSC Harwood Grant Machine guard lockout Sep 21 NIU Naperville Harwood Grant Machine guard lockout Sep 8 NIU Rockford Harwood Grant Confined Space Fire Sep 23 NIU Naperville Harwood Grant Confined Space Fire September 22 NIU Rockford OSHA 7510 Intro OSHA Small Business Sep 25 NIU Naperville For FREE NIU Harwood grant training https://cpelearn.niu.edu/susan-harwood-training-grant-program/ 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 1673 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