Featured This Week

Employment Safety

• OSHA issues revised whistleblower investigations manual
• OSHA, NIOSH release new nail gun safety publication
• US Labor Department sues Beverly, Mass., dentist for allegedly firing employee who raised concerns about contaminated needle disposal

OSHA issues revised whistleblower investigations manual

OSHA has issued Directive CPL 02-03-003, OSHA Whistleblower Investigations Manual, to be used as a reference by OSHA personnel. The manual outlines procedures, and other information, related to the handling of retaliation complaints under the various whistleblower statutes delegated to OSHA. The manual supersedes OSHA Instruction DIS 0-0.9, Whistleblower Investigations Manual, August 22, 2003; and OSHA Instruction DIS .7, Referral iii of Section 11(c) Complaints to "State Plan" States, February 27, 1986. OSHA currently has responsibility for investigating whistleblower complaints under twenty-one statutes, each containing various differences and distinctions in the way the cases are processed and investigated. The revised Instruction updates the previous Manual to include the new statutes and includes minor corrections and enhancements to the previous version.

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OSHA, NIOSH release new nail gun safety publication

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and OSHA have released a new publication to provide a resource for residential home builders and construction contractors, subcontractors, and supervisors to prevent nail gun injuries. "Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors," was developed in response to a unanimous motion by industry, state, and labor stakeholders on OSHA's Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) regarding the need to develop awareness and materials about nail gun risks.

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US Labor Department sues Beverly, Mass., dentist for allegedly firing employee who raised concerns about contaminated needle disposal

The U.S. DOL has sued a Beverly dentist, N. Terry Fayad, and his practice for allegedly firing an employee for raising concerns about needlestick hazards and filing a health hazard complaint with OSHA. According to the complaint filed in U.S. district court in Boston by the department's Office of the Regional Solicitor, Fayad discharged a dental assistant, in November 2010, after the employee raised concerns about an office procedure that required workers to remove protective caps from contaminated needles before putting the needles in disposal containers for sharps. This procedure exposed the employees to injury and possible infection by bloodborne pathogens, such as hepatitis and HIV.

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