b'34 Safety & EmploymentSafety & Employment Law Tidbits The DOL and the FTC are both looking at non-competeindividualsinthefilingofBy Gary Aumanagreementswithaneyetowardsmakingthemsexual harassment actions illegal. The position of the FTC is that con-competeaswellasotherclaimsofwrongscommittedby agreements hinder the ability of employees to freelyemployers against individuals.switch jobs, which is not good for employment or the economy. The FTC has indicated that it will proposingTheU.S.SupremeCourtwillbeconsideringthe a rule making restrictive non-compete agreements aeconomicstrikedamageissue.Theissueisthe violation of an administrative rule. The DOL appearspotential for liability by the union in the case of extreme to be headed in the same direction. economic damage to an employer during a strike.OnJanuary17,2023,itwasreportedthattheDOListakingontheindependentcontractor Biden OSHA is planning to propose a rule that willissue. In other words, when is a contractor truly an Dedicated to keeping its members at the forefront in their industryreinstate the ability of organized labor to participate inindependent contractor versus when the employees ongoing OSHA inspections even if the union does notoftheindependentcontractorwillbeconsidered represent the employees and even if the contractoremployees of the principle?being inspected is a non-union contractor. There is an indication is that the new rule will be proposed in May. Counsel reported that the fines charged by most of the DOL agencies have gone up by approximately In the spring of 2022 OSHA proposed a new electronic7.7%.MaximumOSHAfinesforaseriousand OSHA reporting rule to require any employer with 100otherthanserioushavegoneupto$15,625while ormoreemployeestoelectronicallyfileitsOSHAmaximum OSHA fines for willful and repeat violations 300A forms and its OSHA 300 and 301 forms. Thishavegoneupto$156,259.OnJanuary26,2023, rule will apply to employers in high hazard industries,OSHAannouncedenforcementguidancetomake which includes all construction related industries asenforcementeffortsmoreeffective.Toaccomplish well as most manufacturers. This is another shot atthis OSHA has directed regional and area directors the OSHA shame rule that was attempted during theto begin citing employers with violations of standards Obamaadministration.Rememberthisinformationgoverning exposure to significant hazards, such as fall will be available to anyone who would want to reviewprotection,lockout/tagout,permitrequiredconfined it. This could (if it is finalized as predicted) make all ofspace and several others to cite employers instance your accidents and injuries as well as other informationby instance. In other words, cite employers for each obtained during your accident investigation open toinstance of a violations. So, if a compliance officer on public scrutiny.a jobsite inspection observes five employees working without fall protection the compliance officer may cite PresidentBidensignedtheSpeakOutActonthe employer for five separate serious violations of the December7,2022.Thislawisintendedtoassistfall protection standard.The InsulatorApril 2023'