Cases & Developments

U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process.  The proposed rule would amend OSHA’s inspection procedures to permit employees to designate a third party to accompany the Compliance Safety and Health Officer if “good cause has been shown why their participation is reasonably necessary to the conduct of an effective and thorough physical inspection of the workplace (e.g., because of their relevant knowledge, skills, or experience with hazards or conditions in the workplace or similar workplaces or language skills).”  The preamble of the NPRM clarifies that the third party might be a union representative, attorney, translator, or representative of a worker advocacy group.