Texas and Kentucky Top Rankings of Year-over-Year Increases, While New York and North Dakota Lag; Texas and Oklahoma Lead in Monthly Gains, While New York, Ohio, New Jersey Experience Largest Declines

On Dec. 22, AGC again pushed back on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) effort to establish a one-sized-fits-all national standard for heat injury and illness prevention in outdoor and indoor settings.

On July 17, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a final rule that expands the current recordkeeping requirements, and goes into effect on January 1, 2024, to mandate the submission of Form 300-Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and Form 301-Injury and Illness Incident Report in addition to Form 300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses data from construction establishments with 100 or more employees. Establishments with 20 to 99 employees continue to be required to submit only Form 300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses data. AGC communicated our concerns with the rule to OSHA during the rulemaking process.

On November 9, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced that the newly updated EM 385-1-1 has been finalized. The manual details safety and health requirements for all USACE construction activities and operations, including Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) construction contracts.

On November 13, AGC along with twenty-two of its Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) partners, submitted comments raising significant concerns about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) proposal to expand who can serve as the employee representative during the walkaround portion of enforcement inspections.