WASHINGTON ALERT
Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office; Jeff Hannapel & Christian Richter, The Policy Group, Washington, D.C.
Congressional Resolution to Overturn OSHA Recordkeeping Rule Gains Support
THE OSHA RULEMAKING WAS IN RESPONSE TO A 2012 D.C. DISTRICT COURT RULING AGAINST THE AGENCY. Over 70 trade associations,
including AFS, joined in a coali- tion letter supporting a resolution that would nullify an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule, finalized in December 2016, that said that employers were liable for any failure to record any workplace injury or illness in the previous five years, not six months as was the previous standard. Te OSHA rulemaking was in
response to a 2012 D.C. District Court ruling against the agency in a case called Volks. Te court found that the agency did not have the author- ity to issue citations to employers for recordkeeping violations older than six months. Te agency “clarified” the existing law that it could. Despite of the court’s 2012 decision, OSHA went on to introduce this new recordkeeping rule, which went into effect in January. Te Volks Rule will subject millions of small businesses, including foundries, to citations for paperwork violations.
ON THE HILL
Portman, Shaheen Reintroduce Energy Bill
Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) reintroduced the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 385) in the Senate. Portman-Shaheen bill has drawn strong bipartisan support since it was first introduced in 2011. The legisla- tion is aimed at using low-cost tools to make it easier for private sector energy users and the federal government to become more efficient. The measure is cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Dekaware), Al Franken (D-Minnesota), Joe Manchin (D- West Virginia), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi). For the manufacturing sector, the measure establishes a U.S. Department
24 | MODERN CASTING March 2017
of Energy (DOE) grant program, Supply- STAR, to help make companies’ supply chains more efficient. In addition to new efforts to improve industrial efficiency, the bill directs DOE to support development of national model building energy codes and requires greater transparency in the code development process.
Alexander Acosta Nominated to Serve as Labor Secretary
On Feb. 16, President Trump nomi- nated Florida International University’s College of Law dean Alexander Acosta to head the U.S. Department of Labor. Under former President George W. Bush, Acosta was confirmed by the U.S. Senate three times, as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and as a U.S. At- torney in Miami.
Along with Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) reintroduced the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 385) in the Senate.
Acosta is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and clerked for U.S. Su- preme Court Justice Samuel Alito when he was a judge on the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
For additional information, contact Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Off ice,
202/842-4864,
ssalmon@afsinc.org.
The House was expected to vote on the resolution in early March, followed by the Senate. Chairman of the House Educa-
tion and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Bradley Bryne (R-Alabama), introduced a resolution of disapproval, H. J. Res
83, under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the rule. Te House was expected to vote on
the resolution in early March, followed by the Senate.
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