The workplace violence tragedy in Florida yesterday where a lone gunman killed five people and then himself at an Orlando awning factory is a sad reminder that workplace violence remains a serious issue for businesses. OSHA estimates that approximately 2 million American workers are victims of workplace violence each year and that it can strike anywhere, at any time. In fact, during a recent fire drill at our building, the Fire Warden spoke not only about emergency exit procedures during a fire but protocols when an active shooter is in the building. Although it is a frightening scenario to think about, businesses can and should be proactive about identifying potential workplace violence incidents and providing appropriate training.
Although there are no specific OSHA standards for workplace violence, ignoring signs and failing to abate recognized hazards including workplace violence could lead to a violation of Section 5(a)(1), the general duty clause, of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Specifically, an employer that has experienced acts of workplace violence, or becomes aware of threats or other indicators showing the potential for workplace violence would be on notice for risk of workplace violence and should implement a workplace violence prevention program including engineering controls, administrative controls, and training as it generally should for any other kind of recognized hazard in the workplace. Indeed, some states such as New York already require certain employers (public employers) to have a written workplace violence program including conducting a hazard assessment.
Although it is too early to tell in the Orlando case what, if any, signs existed that might have predicted the shooting, law enforcement has stated that it appears the shooter was singling out individuals and that he had at least one negative relationship with one of the victims. In many of these tragedies, there may have been visible workplace violence signs or other indicators. Read More
The ABA – OSHA Committee held its 2017 Midwinter Meeting in Jupiter Florida from March 7 – 10. It was well attended by OSHA practitioners across the country including many prominent government attorneys including: Susan Harthill, Deputy Solicitor for National Operations; Thomas Galassi, Director, Directorate of Enforcement Programs, OSHA; the Honorable Covette Rooney, Chief Judge, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; and Heather MacDougall, Acting Chairperson, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Congress granted the Secretary of Labor the authority to enter places of employment to conduct safety and health inspections. The OSH Act provides that such inspections must take place at reasonable times, within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner and that they may include inspection of relevant conditions, structures and other equipment. For a general description of the inspection process, OSHA has published a Fact Sheet which is available 
As of January 13, 2017, employers will be subject to higher fines for safety and health violations but not by much – 1.01636 percent to be precise. The increase matches the annual consumer price index by the federal government as of October 2016. The new maximum OSHA fines are:
There are lot of questions about how the Trump administration will affect OSHA in the next four years including who will lead the agency. The President has already implemented a federal hiring freeze although there are some exceptions built into the mandate. However, it is probably a safe bet to assume we probably will not see an increase in OSHA enforcement and most likely a shift from enforcement to compliance assistance as federal budgets will likely shrink.