OSHA WITHDRAWS FARM INSPECTION MEMO RE: GRAIN HANDLING By Jacqueline Bollas Caldwell, Esq. A June 2011 guidance memo allowing the Occupational Safety & Health Administration compliance officers to inspect grain handling operations on small farms has been withdrawn in order for the Department of Labor to complete a review of the policy. OSHA announced this decision in a February 10, 2014, letter to several senators and other congressmen, signed by Brian Kennedy, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Congressional and intergovernmental Affairs. This move was welcomed by members of the House who had challenged the OSHA policy at a February 4, 2014, hearing, and also stating that OSHA’s family-farming guidance was flawed and legally suspect. The February 10, 2014, letters by the Assistant Secretary of Labor advised that the June 2011 guidance memo had been removed from OSHA’s website and that the Department of Labor will issue new guidance following consultations with the Department of Agriculture and farm organizations. Until a new guidance letter is issued, OSHA field offices will consult with OSHA headquarters when there is uncertainty about the legality of inspecting a family farm.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:25:07 +0000
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