OSHA Changes in 2024, what workers need to know
Read about important changes by OSHA for the year 2024 that affect employees.
Protections for Emergency Response Workers
Currently OSHA has published a proposal in January 2024 to update and existing standard and expand protections for emergency responders.
Major changes under the proposal include changes to protective clothing and improvements in health and safety practices that are generally accepted by industry as “standard procedures”.
OSHA is accepting comments from the public.
Recommendation by OSHA Regarding Hard Hats
Going forward in 2024 OHSA is recommending a switch from traditional hard hats to safety helmets in the following industries.
- Construction
- Oil and Gas
- High Temperature
- Specialized work and low risk work while preforming tasks involving electrical work and working from heights.
A Safety and Health Information Bulletin by OSHA outlines the differences between traditional hard hats and safety helmets.
OSHA Civil Penalty Adjustments for 2024
OSHA has adjusted penalty amounts due to an increase in inflation. This rule under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act (This act exists to advance the effectiveness of civil penalties due to inflation). Beginning in 2024, maximum penalties have increased for serious and other-than-serious violations from $15,625 per violation to $16,131 per violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations has increased from $156,259 per violation to $161,323 per violation.
Rule to Improve Injury and Illness Tracking by Employers in 2024
This new rule will affect establishments with 100 or more employees. The new change includes how and what information is submitted on the OSHA “300 Log” and the OSHA Incident Form, 301. The data will have to be submitted electronically by employers through OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application. The benefit and hope, is to allow an increase in data collection and transparency, allowing increased worker protections. This will include individual interventions or trends identified.
