DOL Publishes Final FMLA Regulation
November 17, 2008
Today the U.S. DOL published its final regulation on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This final rule was praised by the business community as strengthening the 15 year old Act by providing needed clarity and understanding.
Highlights of the regulation include:
*Doctor's Visits: Clarifies rules on how often and when employees must see doctors. Previously, the law required employees to see a doctor twice during their leave. The new rules stipulate that those two doctor visits must take place within 30 days of beginning leave. The first visit must occur within the first seven days.
*Paid Leave: Under new rules, employees who use paid leave at the same time as family leave must follow employer rules on paid time off.
That means employees can't use vacation time to get paid time off during an unplanned leave; instead, employees must follow their employer's time-off rules.
*Notice of Leave: Employees must follow the employer's usual call-in rules for reporting an absence, except in emergencies. That may mean advance or same-day notice. Previously, employees could notify employers of plans to take family leave two days after their first absence.
*Fitness for Duty: Allows employers to require`fitness-for-duty''
evaluations for workers who took FMLA time and are returning to jobs that could endanger themselves or others.
*Military Leave: Eligible military family members will for the first time be able to take up to 26 weeks off in a 12-month period to care for a service member with a serious duty-related injury. Leave also will be granted to family members of those in the National Guard and Reserves.
Click here to see DOL's Final Rule on Family and Medical Leave fact sheet on the new rules. To view the new regulation in its entirety, click here <http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-26577.pdf.
OSHA Seeks Comments on Shipyard Asbestos Reporting
November 05, 2008
OSHA seeks public comment on its proposal to expand the reporting requirements for shipyards with respect to its asbestos standard.
The Special Issues for Comment are….
• Whether the proposed information collection requirements are necessary for the proper performance of the Agency’s functions, including whether the information is useful;
• The accuracy of OSHA’s estimate of the burden (time and costs) of the information collection requirements, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• The quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden on employers who must comply; for example, by using automated or other technological information collection and transmission techniques.
Today's Federal Register notice on Shipyard Asbestos Reporting can be accessed here. Comments must be submitted by January 5, 2009.
OSHA Released 2007 Non-Fatal Injury and Illness Data
November 03, 2008
OSHA has released its 2007 data of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry. The 2007 TRIR rate for Shipbuilding and Repairing, NAICS code 336611, is 8.7. The 2007 OSHA DART rate is 5.2. This is a fairly significant decline from OSHA's 2006 TRIR and DART rates for shipbuilding of 10.7 and 6.3 respectively.
The following link provides OSHA injury and illness data from 2007 on back, http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshsum.htm#06Summary%20Tables.
NAVSEA Releases FY-10 Standard Items
October 30, 2008
NAVSEA Final Report of August 2008 SSRAC announces the SSRAC web site posting of the FY-10 NAVSEA Standard Items and Appendix 4-E to Volume VII, Chapter 4 of the JFMM. The letter states that the FY-10 Standard Items shall be invoked for all CNO availabilities with an availability start date in FY-10 (on or after 01 OCT 2009) and in all other (CMAV and emergent) new procurements issued after 1 Feb 2009.
Please read the attached letter then visit http://www.sermc.surfor.navy.mil/SSRAC1/index.htm and follow the "What's New" link to view/download the items.
Corrected FY-10 Standard Item 009-77 is a correction to the subject Standard Item previously posted on the SSRAC web site. If you have already printed a copy, please replace it with the attached. The correction is in Attachment A, Cofferdam PCP Review Guide, and specifically, pages 7 and 8 of 14. The corrected copy has been posted on the SSRAC web site.
Final Log of Comments received during the preliminary review of the FY-10 products and the action taken is provided for your review.
These requirements do not authorize any change in terms, conditions, delivery schedule, price, or amount of any existing Government contract.
Linda D. Mayle
Asst NAVSEA SSRAC Coordinator
SERMC Business Office Code 1220/Standards Coordinator
Ph: 904-270-5593
FAX: 904-270-5729
linda.mayle@navy.mil
NAVSEA Standard Items FY-09 Change 2
October 29, 2008
This issues Change Two (CH-2) to the FY-09 NAVSEA Standard Items. This is a change to
009-32, Cleaning and Painting Requirements; accomplish (specifically pages 10 and 11 of 63), which allows the submission of paper QA Checklist Form Appendices as an alternative to using to the QA Tools Paperless QA program. All other requirements remain unchanged.
FY-09 SI 009-32 (change 2) is included here and on the SSRAC website in the FY-09 Standard Item download package at http://www.sermc.surfor.navy.mil/ssrac1/standard.htm.
The requirements here do not authorize any change in terms, conditions, delivery schedule, price, or amount of any existing Government contract.
Joey Cartwright
Code 106
NAVSEA SSRAC Coordinator
Office (904)-270-5722
joey.c.cartwright@navy.mil
OSHA Released Clarification to Sub-Part S
October 29, 2008
Today OSHA announced revisions and clarifications to the electrical installation standard (Subpart S) for general industry, previously published on February 14, 2007. OSHA’s notice clarifies the scope of one provision in particular by addressing questions raised by stakeholders, specifically the Maritime Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH).
Background: Since the Subpart S final rule was promulgated, the Agency has received questions regarding one provision, 29 CFR 1910.304(b)(3)(ii). At a MACOSH meeting on August 1, 2007, the group discussed the provision and several members expressed concern about both the extent of its application to shipyard employment and about how the Agency would interpret the rule. OSHA’s clarifications today are a direct consequence of these concerns.
As originally published, the introductory text to Sec.1910.304(b)(3)(ii) read as follows:
The following requirements apply to temporary wiring
installations that are used during maintenance, remodeling, or
repair of buildings, structures, or equipment or during similar
construction-like activities.
Concern was raised regarding the meaning of this provision. Specifically, the structure of the text of the provision the terms ``construction-like'' activities and ``temporary wiring installations.''
Both OSHA's final rule and Section 2-2.4.2 of the 2000 edition of NFPA 70E, which the Agency relied on, are intended to apply to temporary wiring installations used during the performance of construction-like activities. However, from questions the Agency received about this provision, the intent of the rule may not have be readily apparent from the text.
Changes:
--The Agency removed "construction" from the list of activities specifically mentioned in NFPA 70E and changed ``similar activities'' to ``similar construction-like activities.''
The revised introductory text to Sec.1910.304(b)(3)(ii) now reads:
The following requirements apply to temporary wiring
installations that are used during construction-like activities,
including certain maintenance, remodeling, or repair activities,
involving buildings, structures or equipment. [Emphasis added.]
NOTE: Ship building and ship repair would be considered to meet the definition of “construction-like activities” because of the scale and complexity of the work; nevertheless, the hazards associated with this work are specifically covered by OSHA's shipyard employment standards. However, the shipyard standards do not protect employees from all of the hazards addressed by paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of Sec.1910.304; in such instances, this paragraph applies to hazards not covered by the shipyard standards, as outlined in Sec. 1910.5(c). (The application of subpart S to shipyard employment is discussed in more detail in the preamble to the final rule, 72 FR 7141.)
For additional explanation and review of further clarifications please read Sub-Part S Clarification announcement from the Federal Register.
OSHA Compliance Assistnace Products
October 28, 2008
Round-up: OSHA Products
(FY 2008: October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008)
OSHA issued the following new or updated compliance assistance products in FY 2008. For more information, see the New Compliance Assistance Products page on the OSHA Compliance Assistance Web page at www.osha.gov/complianceassistance.
Publications Page
- Redesigned Publications Page. This page allows users to find OSHA publications in several ways, including by the publication number or keyword, from an alphabetical listing, by industry or topic, and by publication type.
eTools
Safety and Health Topics Pages
Other Web Pages
Fact Sheets
Publications and Guidance Documents
New Shipyard Green House Gas Inventory Tool Issued
October 17, 2008
EPA has issued a revised Green House Gas (GHG) Shipyard Inventory Tool. It has been revised based on comments received by EPA. The Summary of Comments on the draft version indicates the action taken by EPA.
The purpose of this Shipyard GHG Inventory Tool v2.1 is to give each shipyard a customized credible tool to measure their GHG emissions. I hope that everyone can utilize this tool. It is vitally important that the industry take steps to gain an accurate depiction of its GHG emissions, especially in light of the fact that EPA was directed by Congress in the omnibus appropriations bill (passed Dec. 20, 2007) to create a mandatory GHG registry and increased talk of regulation at the local, state, and federal levels.
Remember to enable Macros when open the Tool. Doing so will remove the tabs and other excess Excel features. To return to the Excel environment, the user can click "Restore Excel Environment" from the "Tool Options" dropdown list. Using the tabs is much easier than the Excel environment.
SEA 21 Conducts MSMO Industry Day in Norfolk
October 16, 2008
Monday morning, August 25th, RDML Jim McManamon, SEA 21, and a team of NAVSEA executives were in Norfolk to deliver a briefing on the latest developments in the Multi-Ship/Multi-Option contracting process utilized by the Navy. About 120 ship repair industry leaders from all over the country traveled to Norfolk to participate.
The MSMO Industry Day Brief is now available for your review. Any questions should be directed to SEA 21.
New Solid Waste Definition Envourages Recycling
October 08, 2008
News for Release: Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Definition of Solid Waste Revised to Encourage Recycling
(Washington, D.C. – Oct. 7, 2008) A final rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act streamlines regulation of hazardous secondary materials when they are recycled by reclamation. EPA's regulation maintains strong protection of human health and the environment by limiting the streamlined requirements to specific, legitimate recycling activities.
"Removing barriers to legitimate recycling is good for business and the environment," said Susan Parker Bodine, assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "This rule will help conserve natural resources, save energy, and, reduce costs."
The rule excludes materials from the federal hazardous waste system that are:
· generated and legitimately reclaimed under the control of the generator;
· generated and transferred to another company for legitimate reclamation under specific conditions; or
· determined by EPA or an authorized state to be non-wastes on a case-by-case basis via a petition process.
The rule also contains a provision to determine which recycling activities are legitimate under the new exclusions and non-waste determinations. These exclusions are not available for materials that are considered inherently waste-like, used in a manner constituting disposal, or burned for energy recovery.
EPA estimates that about 5,600 facilities handling approximately 1.5 million tons of hazardous secondary materials annually may be impacted by this rule. The activities most affected are metals and solvent recycling. EPA estimates that the regulation will save approximately $95 million per year for the affected industries.