In February, AFS joined over 80 trade associations in a coalition letter supporting a resolution that would nullify an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule, finalized in December, that said employers were liable for any failure to record any workplace injury or illness in the previous five years, not six months as was the previous standard.
The OSHA rulemaking was in response to a 2012 D.C. District Court ruling against the agency in a case called Volks. The court found that the agency did not have the authority to issue citations to employers for recordkeeping violations older than six months. The agency "clarified" the existing law to say that it could do that. Despite the court’s 2012 decision, OSHA went on to introduce this new recordkeeping rule, which went into effect in January.
The Volks Rule will subject millions of small businesses, including foundries, to citations for paperwork violations, while doing nothing to improve worker health and safety. Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Bradley Bryne (R-Alabama), introduced a resolution of disapproval, H. J. Res 83, under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the rule. The House passed a resolution of disapproval on March 1, 2017. Action now turns to the U.S. Senate. An identical resolution is anticipated this week.