Occupational Safety and Health Administration Archives

Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) Secretary Fitzgerald Washington announced his first deputy secretary appointment since assuming office in 2014.

Washington has appointed attorney Don Harrison, current ADOL assistant general counsel, to serve as deputy secretary of government affairs.

In announcing the appointment, Washington asserted that Harrison’s legal background would prove beneficial in furthering the department’s mission.

“The position of Deputy Secretary has gone unfilled since before my appointment,” stated Washington. “I felt it necessary to have someone with a strong legal background to help fulfill the vision and goals of moving this agency forward to meet the new challenges of an ever-changing workforce. With his extensive experience in labor and employment law, I am confident that he will prove to be an asset in this new position at ADOL.”

Harrison obtained his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law.

Following his studies, Harrison served as a judicial law clerk in Birmingham. He went on to work nine years in private practice with a focus on civil litigation, workers’ compensation, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and related matters. Harrison holds 20 years of experience as an attorney practicing labor law.

During his time at ADOL, Harrison has represented the department in litigation and provided numerous ADOL divisions with legal counsel relating to personnel, disciplinary, and other employment-related matters.

Additionally, he has served as a project leader for ADOL’s COVID-19 pandemic response. In the role, he has worked to implement provisions of the CARES Act, executive orders and other laws and regulations.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday night voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The “Congressional Review Act” (CRA), sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), passed the upper chamber by a vote of 52-48. Senate Republicans were joined by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) in voting for the legislation.

The mandate, issued by Biden through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), last month was met with a temporary injunction by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The rule requires businesses that employ more than 100 individuals to force vaccination upon their employees or subject them to weekly virus testing.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) issued a statement applauding the body’s move to overturn the mandate, which he contended was a prime example of “federal overreach.”

“As I’ve said before, President Biden’s vaccine mandate violates our constitutional liberties and is federal overreach at its finest,” advised Shelby. “Today I was proud to vote for Senator Braun’s CRA to overturn that mandate. While I urge people to consult with their doctor about getting vaccinated, I believe our individual freedoms and rights are of the utmost importance.”

According to Shelby’s senate office, the CRA would serve to expedite the process for Congress to consider a joint resolution to rescind the OSHA rule.

The measure now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, where it is likely to be met with opposition from the Democratic majority.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday sent a letter to the Biden administration expressing her opposition to the implementation of the government-imposed private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

President Joe Biden, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), on November 5 issued the edict, officially titled the COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring private companies that employ over 100 individuals to force vaccination upon their workers or subject them to weekly virus testing.

The State of Alabama, led by Attorney General Steve Marshall, last month filed a petition for review in an effort to block the administration from enforcing the decree.

In her letter to OSHA assistant secretary Doug Palmer, Ivey outlined her vehement objection to Biden’s mandate and asserted that the rule was “misguided.” In asking the administration to halt its plans to officially adopt the rule, Ivey made mention of her October executive order which took aim at the president’s edicts.

“An executive order I signed on October 25, 2021, which is enclosed with this letter, said the best way to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations in Alabama is through education, transparency, communication, and persuasion–not government coercion,” wrote Ivey. “My administration encourages COVID-19 vaccinations as safe and effective but opposes overreaching COVID-19 vaccination mandates imposed by government.”

This morning, I’ve submitted a letter to @OSHA_DOL opposing the @POTUS vaccine mandate for companies with 100+ employees. Alabama is standing strong in our fight against the overreaching, un-American Biden vaccine mandates. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/BE7eVK9ecQ

— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) December 3, 2021

The letter continued, “My executive order also said several COVID-19 policies announced by President Biden, including mandates imposed by the ETS, threaten to increase vaccine skepticism in Alabama and to severely disrupt the State’s economy. I still believe that.”

Following the letter, Ivey issued a public statement declaring that Alabama would continue its efforts to oppose the federal government’s vaccine mandates.

“Alabama is standing strong in our fight against the overreaching, un-American Biden vaccine mandates,” the governor proclaimed. “President Trump said it well in an interview yesterday morning. The Biden Administration is driving distrust and anxieties about this vaccine. As I have stated countless times, Alabamians and Americans alike should never have to choose between getting this shot and putting food on the tables for their families. We are fighting these mandates every step of the way, any way we know how.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Attorney General Steve Marshall (R-AL) on Friday filed a legal challenge to block President Joe Biden’s vaccine edict for private employers.

Marshall filed the petition for review in the 11th Circuit immediately upon the Biden administration officially publishing vaccination rules for businesses covered under his decree.

According to the president’s mandate, private companies employing more than 100 workers must force vaccination upon its employees or subject them to weekly virus testing and mask-wearing beginning January 4, 2022.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency rule is estimated to impact over 80 million American workers. Employers could face severe financial penalties if they are found to be noncompliant with the edict.

“Today, I’ve challenged the Biden Administration’s latest attempt to wreck our nation’s economy while satiating the left’s infatuation with government-mandated immunization,” advised Marshall.

In announcing the legal challenge, Marshall asserted that the president’s private employer mandate was “utterly flawed” and “illegitimate.”

“Not only is this mandate based on a faulty public health premise—that workplace immunization will stop the spread of COVID—but it is based on an utterly flawed legal premise as well,” the attorney general proclaimed. “When you consider the number of employees impacted by both the federal-contractor and private-employer mandate, Biden has effectively issued a nationwide vaccine mandate. As I have said before, this effort is illegitimate and legally unserious. Based on recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent, I am confident the Eleventh Circuit will agree.”

Marshall took note of the labor crisis, which has metastasized across the nation, indicating that Biden’s decree would further exacerbate the dilemma.

“Our nation is in the midst of a labor crisis,” Marshall stated. “We can see and feel that here in Alabama. Instead of promoting policies that would encourage individuals to re-enter the work force, this Administration has done nothing but deter them. Vaccine mandates don’t guarantee protection from COVID—they guarantee a labor shortage.”

Marshall joined attorneys general from Florida and Georgia in challenging the OSHA rule. Clarke County-based Scotch Plywood Company joined the challenge as a plaintiff.

The attorney general’s challenge to Biden’s private employer mandate comes on the heels of the lawsuit he filed last week combating the president’s federal contractor mandate.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), along with a number of his GOP colleagues, sent a letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stating their opposition to the federal vaccine mandate for businesses.

In the letter sent to OSHA Secretary Doug Parker, Palmer and his colleagues stated that “many individuals have expressed a sincerely held religious objection to the COVID-19 vaccine.” They further proclaimed that the mandate is “unconstitutional” and “un-American.”

In announcing the letter, Palmer asserted that Americans’ religious liberty should be protected.

“Unfortunately, this Administration must be reminded that religious rights and other freedoms are not forfeited during a pandemic,” declared Palmer. “The employer-employee relationship does not need intervention from a third federal party. Employees need their individual rights to be protected, not trampled upon by the government.”

A federally imposed vaccine mandate is completely unconstitutional. At the very least, government should recognize and defend the rights of those who decide to refuse it. My full statement and letter to Secretary Parker here:https://t.co/wH3an3lhGb

— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) November 1, 2021

The congressman indicated that citizens who hold religious objections to the vaccine should not be forced to partake in a treatment that is antithetical to their beliefs.

“I firmly believe this mandate is unconstitutional, and at the very least, we need to defend the rights of individuals who, for whatever deeply held beliefs, decide to refuse it,” he added. “No one should be forced to choose between providing for their families and violating their conscience. Religious and other conscience exemptions are at the heart of the Constitution, which this Administration and every Member of Congress swore an oath to uphold and defend.”

Palmer concluded, “This letter from my colleagues and me insists that at the least, individuals’ freedoms must be respected and maintained when regulations on the mandate are finalized and published.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

As President Trump continues to issue executive orders to undo overreaching regulations implemented over the past eight years, Alabama Representative Bradley Byrne is also attempting to slash one of the Obama Administration’s harmful “power grabs.”

As the chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Rep. Byrne introduced a resolution rejecting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) unlawful “Volks” rule from implementation.

The OSHA rule forces businesses to keep more extensive records of workplace injuries, and threatens greater penalty for failing to do so. The controversial mandate has been on the losing end of two federal court cases, which had originated after individual businesses faced massive citations for clerical errors that took place years prior.

Byrne says that overturning the unconstitutional rule will encourage a more “proactive” approach to worker health and safety policies.

“Every worker deserves safe and healthy working conditions, and bad actors who put hardworking men and women in harm’s way must be held accountable. That’s why Republicans have consistently called on OSHA to improve its enforcement efforts and collaborate with employers to address gaps in safety,” Rep Byrne said.

“Unfortunately, the Obama administration consistently doubled down on failed, punitive policies that do more to tie small businesses in red tape than protect workers,” he added. “With this rule, OSHA rewrote federal law while doing nothing to improve worker health and safety. Congress must reject this unlawful power grab and encourage the agency to adopt the responsible, proactive safety approach that America’s workers deserve.”

(Above: Greta Van Susteren interview Rep. Martha Roby on Fox News’ “On the Record”)

Are unions trying to invade the South?

That was the hotly-debated question on Greta Van Susteren’s Fox News program on Thursday night.

According to the “On the Record” host, a complaint by Wal Mart to the National Labor Relations Board claims that a union official “chased” a female employee into the restroom of one of their stores and interrogated her about her wages and hours. But the incidents Van Susteren was most interested in talking about Wednesday evening focused on the State of Alabama.

Recent reports revealed that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been teaming up with labor unions during investigatory visits to non-unionized businesses. On top of that, it appears that OSHA may also be specifically targeting southern auto manufacturers without proper justification.

OSHA recently launched a “Regional Emphasis Program” (REP) to inspect automobile and auto parts manufactures in the Southeast, specifically Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. According to a trade publication, “This new Auto Supply Manufacturers enforcement program will target manufacturers in the southeast that supply engines, airbags, trim, or any other automotive products.”

REPs are a fairly common OSHA tool. However, they usually come with some justification for the special emphasis. For instance, an REP targeting “powered industrial trucks” cited a spike in forklift accidents and injuries. Although the data they used was fairly old, it at least provided some justification for their decision to pay special attention to industrial trucks. Other REPs that cited data as justification for special emphasis included REPs targeting noise hazards and landscaping and horticultural services.

But OSHA’s decision to target southern auto manufacturers does not appear to contain a data-driven explanation, leading to speculation that it’s another hat tip to the unions who have grown frustrated by their inability to gain a toehold in southern states.

“It came to light for us when we noticed there were more and more stories being reported around the country where OSHA was designating union representatives to come along for inspections in non-unionized industry,” Rep. Martha Roby, R-AL02, explained to Van Susteren. “At the same time, OSHA issued what’s called a ‘Regional Emphasis Program’ that targeted the automotive parts suppliers in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, and they did so without justification… We’re questioning whether or not this Administration’s interpretation of the law affords OSHA the unilateral opportunity to bring along a union rep to a non-unionized corporation for an inspection, but also to target specific industry in a specific part of the country without offering the appropriate justification.”

An OSHA representative told Van Susteren that their emphasis programs “are based on Bureau of Labor and Statistics injury and illness data as well as OSHA’s experience in the local area.” OSHA claimed they decided to focus on Alabama because they had received 54 complaints from workers in the state’s auto parts manufacturing businesses.

But Roby contends that the data OSHA is using to justify their actions is so old that it isn’t relevant to the current debate.

“The data that they’re relying on to highlight a ‘problem’ in Alabama is data from 2010,” Roby said. “So… if there was such a problem in Alabama in 2010, why are we doing a Regional Emphasis Program four years later in 2014?”

Roby said she has seen no reasonable justification for OSHA’s targeting of southern auto-manufacturers, leading her and others to conclude that it is little more than an attempt to help the Obama Administration’s political allies in the labor unions.

“If you’re going to treat similar businesses differently in different parts of the country — and there’s a very high bar of justification for doing so — we’ve asked OSHA to provide us with this data and all they can give us is this 2010 data,” Roby said in conclusion.

The full interview can be viewed above.

What do you think? Are labor unions trying to invade the south? Let us know in the comments or by tweeting us @YHPolitics.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

Fresh off of reports that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is teaming up with labor unions during investigatory visits to non-unionized businesses, it now appears that OSHA may also be specifically targeting southern auto manufacturers for no apparent reason.

In a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, Rep. Martha Roby, R-AL02, is asking what reason OSHA has to single out auto manufacturers in the South for special scrutiny. If the auto industry is especially hazardous, where is the data? And why focus on Southern facilities and not those in Michigan or Ohio?

“OSHA’s recently released REP is troubling…” Roby writes. “It calls for ‘comprehensive safety inspections’ for all members of the ‘Auto Parts Supplier Industry’ covered by OSHA’s ‘Atlanta East, Atlanta West, Birmingham, Mobile, and Jackson’ offices. Auto Parts Suppliers outside of the Southeast are not impacted. While many other regional notices provide quantitative data demonstrating a pattern of workplace industries that might justify such a targeted program, the REP in question provides only that ‘hazards associated with the Auto Parts Supplier Industry that are the focus of this REP continue to be the source of serious injuries, including amputations, and deaths to employees.’ This statement is presented without support.”

Roby also asks in the letter about the aforementioned reports of an OSHA rule change allowing union representatives to accompany OSHA agents on inspections of non-union facilities.

“This practice is troubling,” wrote Roby. “In effect, OSHA appears to have unilaterally determined that organized labor representatives — union reps associated with neither the employees of the business nor the government — may participate in formal government inspections of private businesses on private property. This significant and highly questionable policy was reportedly made not through a formal rulemaking and public comment process, but rather in response to a union inquiry.”

Roby plans to further question Secretary Perez on Wednesday during his scheduled testimony before the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims

US Rep. Martha Roby, R-AL02, has vowed to get to the bottom of allegations that union officials are accompanying federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors during visits to non-unionized businesses.

OSHA’s stated purpose is “to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.”

According to an article by Patrick Howley of The Daily Caller, when OSHA, which is a division of the Obama Administration’s Labor Department, receives a report of a rules violation at a non-union company, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representatives will often come along with them to investigate. Their hope, presumably, is that they will be able to influence workers to unionize in response to whatever workplace violations are found.

“This raised a red flag with me,” Roby said in a Facebook post Monday. “If workers wish to unionize, they have a right to. They also have a right not to be coerced into unionizing, which is why OSHA inspectors teaming up with labor reps is alarming. I’m keeping an eye on this issue, and I’ll let you know what develops.”

Roby linked to Howley’s Daily Caller article, which detailed numerous instances of union officials using their OSHA connections to get into non-union businesses.

“Union representatives from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are now accompanying federal government safety inspectors on site visits to review labor complaints at nonunion private businesses,” Howley wrote. “SEIU and other labor unions can accompany the government inspectors on site visits due to a quiet and contested Obama administration rule clarification issued last year in response to a request from a union representative.”

One of Rep. Roby’s oversight areas on the House Appropriations Committee is the Labor Department. A spokesperson for Roby told Yellowhammer News that they are researching the issue and would likely have more to say in the coming days.

What do you think about union officials teaming up with Obama Administration officials to infiltrate non-union businesses? Let us know in the comments below, or by tweeting @YHPolitics.

Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims