OSHA Updates Animal Slaughtering and Processing Worker Safety Enforcement Inspection Guidance

October 17, 2024July 10, 2025Eric J. Conn Leave a comment

On October 15, 2024, OSHA issued Inspection Guidance for Animal Slaughtering and Processing Establishments that updates enforcement protocols for the agency’s field staff and compliance guidance for employers in NAICS Code 3116 (Animal Slaughtering and Processing), which includes NAICS Codes 311611 (Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering), 311612 (Meat processed from carcasses), 311613 (Rendering and meat byproduct processing), and 311615 (Poultry processing). The guidance takes the form of a memorandum from the Director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs out to all of OSHA’s Regional Offices.

OSHA justified the need for the updated enforcement guidance by noting that animal slaughtering and processing workers suffer serious injuries at a rate that is more than double that of all industries combined.

The updated OSHA guidance supersedes and replaces OSHA’s October 28, 2015 “Inspection Guidance for Poultry Slaughtering and Poultry Processing Establishments.”

The memorandum encourages each OSHA Region to determine whether a special enforcement emphasis program — either a Regional or Local Emphasis Program — is justified after reviewing relevant data in their regions. There are currently active emphasis programs in Region 4 (Regional Emphasis Program for Poultry Processing Facilities covering Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina), Region 5 (Regional Emphasis Program for Food Manufacturing Industry covering Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and Minnesota), Region 6 (Regional Emphasis Program for Poultry Processing Facilities covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico), and Region 7 (Nebraska Local Emphasis Program for Meat Processing Industries). Because OSHA believes these hazards are pervasive nationwide, State OSH Plans, especially those with significant meat and poultry processing industries, are encouraged by OSHA in this enforcement memorandum to follow this guidance document.

Pursuant to OSHA’s updated memorandum, all programmed and unprogrammed inspections in NAICS 3116 will scrutinize Continue reading →

National and Local Emphasis Programs [Webinar Recording]

July 22, 2024July 10, 2025Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

On Thursday, July 18, 2024, Aaron Gelb, Mark Ishu, and Dan Deacon presented a webinar about National and Local Emphasis Programs.

Employers expect OSHA to show up after reporting a serious incident or when employees complain about certain types of hazards, but the agency has been focused now, more than ever it seems, on proactive enforcement methods.

As part of this strategy, OSHA has launched a series of new National Emphasis Programs (“NEP”) targeting heat illness, silica, and the warehousing industry, while also announcing a number of new Regional and Local Emphasis Programs (“REP” and “LEP”) across the country. Employers in the covered industries should take note because their establishments can be selected for an inspection under these programs even if they have an exemplary safety record, have not been subjected to any complaints, and have not recently reported a serious incident. Understanding these enforcement priorities is vital for companies to better prepare for potential regulatory inspections.

Additionally, the enforcement directives created by OSHA for these programs contain blueprints for how OSHA plans and conducts inspections of covered employers, so there is no excuse not to be prepared for the inevitable knock on the door. This was an informed discussion about what covered employers can expect if selected for an emphasis program inspection and what can be done now to prepare.

Participants in this webinar learned: Continue reading →

Announcing Conn Maciel Carey’s 2024 OSHA Webinar Series

December 21, 2023July 10, 2025Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

Now three full years into the Biden Administration, it is the perfect time to take a close look at what we learned from and about OSHA during these very eventful years. More importantly, as OSHA has turned the page from the pandemic and started to “use all of the tools available” in its regulatory and enforcement toolbox, it is a good time to look ahead and assess what OSHA’s priorities will be leading up to the Presidential Election this Fall and in the years ahead. That picture is becoming clearer (and more fraught for employers), as OSHA has drastically increased its penalty authority, reimagined its dreaded Severe Violator Enforcement Program, expanded its “instance-by-instance” citation policy, launched new emphasis programs, worked an aggressive rulemaking agenda, and set new records for significant enforcement actions year after year. Accordingly, it is more important now than ever before for employers to keep abreast of developments at OSHA.

Conn Maciel Carey’s complimentary 2024 OSHA Webinar Series, which includes monthly programs (sometimes more often) put on by the OSHA-focused attorneys in the firm’s national OSHA Practice Group, is designed to give employers insight into developments at OSHA during this period of unpredictability and significant change. To register for an individual webinar in the series, click on the registration link within the individual program descriptions below, or to register for the full webinar series, click here to send us an email request and we will get you registered for all of the programs. Also check out our companion Cal/OSHA Webinar Series, MSHA Webinar Series, and Labor & Employment Webinar Series.

If you missed any of our 100+ webinar programs over the past decade, here is a link to recordings in our webinar archive. If your organization or association would benefit from an exclusive program presented by our OSHA team on any important OSHA-related topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.

OSHA's 2023 in Review and 2024 Forecast Wednesday, January 17th	Process Safety Management & CalARP Monday, August 5th
OSHA Recordkeeping & Reporting Update Thursday, February 8th	Unique Aspects of OSHA-Approved State Plans Thursday, September 19th
OSH & Employment Law Compliance in ESG Thursday, March 21st	Employee Retaliation & Whistleblower Claims Wednesday, September 25th
Tips for Responding to Workplace Violence Wednesday, April 24th	Cal/OSHA & Employment Law In-Person Summit Tuesday, Oct. 8th and Thursday, Oct. 10th
Mid-Year Review: OSHA/MSHA Developments Tuesday, May 28th	Deep Dive: OSHA’s Hazard Communication Rule Tuesday, October 15th
Impact of EPA's New TSCA Rules on OSHA Chemical Safety Enforcement Wednesday, June 12th	Intersection of Artificial Intelligence and OSHA and Employment Law Wednesday, November 13th
OSHA's Enforcement National & Local Emphasis Programs Thursday, July 18th	2025 OSHA New Year's Resolutions: 12 Ways to Improve Your OSHA-Readiness Wednesday, December 18th

See below for the full program descriptions.

Continue reading →

Inspection, On! OSHA Prepares to Hook New England Seafood Processors With New Local Emphasis Program

June 21, 2023July 10, 2025Aaron Gelb Leave a comment

By Aaron Gelb and Darius Rohani-Shukla

Continuing its effort to find new ways to proactively address perceived hazards across a variety of industries, OSHA launched another new Local Emphasis Program (“LEP”) on June 1, 2023, targeting the seafood processing industry in Region I. OSHA intends to use this LEP in an effort to mitigate hazards and improve safety standards in the seafood processing industry and related merchant wholesaler operations. Like the food manufacturing LEPs recently launched in Region V, this LEP will focus on machine guarding, lockout tagout, confined spaces, falls, and other critical safety concerns in the seafood processing industry.

Why is OSHA Targeting the Seafood Processing Industry? Continue reading →

[Webinar] OSHA’s Local Emphasis Program for Midwest Food Manufacturers

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

On Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 10 a.m. CST / 11 a.m. EST, join us for a special bonus webinar in Conn Maciel Carey’s 2023 OSHA Webinar Series regarding OSHA’s LEP for Midwest Food Manufacturers.

Presented by
Conn Maciel Carey LLP with Special Guest

Steve Hawkins
(Former Head of Tennessee OSHA)

OSHA is now conducting inspections in Illinois (and Ohio) as part of a new Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for the Food Manufacturing Industry announced in late 2022. This LEP empowers Illinois OSHA offices to inspect food manufacturing and processing sites with a focus on machine guarding hazards, the employer’s hazardous energy control program, and the sanitation program (hazard communication and Group LOTO). OSHA has the ability under this LEP to conduct inspections for all referral and complaints, formal or non-formal, which contain allegations of potential worker exposure to serious hazards associated with operating food production machinery or performing service, maintenance, and sanitation tasks on food processing and ancillary equipment.

Establishments can be selected for an inspection even if they have an exemplary safety record, have not been the subject of any complaints, and have not recently reported a serious incident. Join us for this discussion about what to expect and how to prepare your company for an OSHA inspection.

Attendees will hear directly from FDR Safety’s Steve Hawkins, former Head of Tennessee OSHA, and Aaron Gelb, Head of Conn Maciel Carey’s Midwest OSHA Practice. Together they will answer the following questions: Continue reading →

Inspections Begin Under OSHA’s Local Emphasis Program for Food Manufacturers in Illinois and Ohio

January 9, 2023July 21, 2025Aaron Gelb Leave a comment

By Aaron R. Gelb and Ashley Mitchell

Inspections have commenced in Illinois and Ohio under the the Local Emphasis Program (LEP) focusing on food manufacturers OSHA announced in October 2022. This LEP reflects the agency’s ongoing efforts to ramp up targeted enforcement efforts and follows Regional Emphasis Programs (REP) initiated in Region V over the past two years dealing with exposure to noise hazards (June 2021) and transportation tank cleaning operations (August 2021), as well as the National Emphasis Program (NEP) on outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards which started in April 2022. General industry employers in Region 5 still have to contend with the 2018 Powered Industrial Truck (PIT) Local Emphasis Program as well. A similar LEP targeting Wisconsin food manufacturers, with the primary difference being the NAICS Codes on which the two LEPs, began last Spring. To date, OSHA has opened 12 inspections, but citation data is not yet available for those inspections. Both LEPs mandate an inspection and review of production operations and working conditions; injury and illness records; safety and health programs; and hazardous energy control methods to identify and correct workplace hazards at all applicable inspection sites.

Why Is OSHA Targeting the Food Manufacturing Industry? Continue reading →

Local Emphasis Program for Food Manufacturers in Wisconsin

August 18, 2022July 10, 2025Aaron Gelb Leave a comment

By Aaron R. Gelb and Darius Rohani-Shukla

Earlier this year, in April, OSHA launched a Local Emphasis Program (LEP) in Wisconsin focused on food manufacturers. This LEP reflects the agency’s ongoing efforts to ramp up targeted enforcement efforts and follows Regional Emphasis Programs (REP) initiated in Region V last year focusing on exposure to noise hazards (June 2021) and transportation tank cleaning operations (August 2021), as well as the National Emphasis Program (NEP) on outdoor and indoor heat-related hazards which started in April 2022. General industry employers in Region 5 still have to contend with the 2018 Powered Industrial Truck (PIT) Local Emphasis Program as well. Meanwhile, we have been told to expect a similar LEP targeting Illinois food manufacturers, with the primary difference being the NAICS Codes on which that LEP will focus. While we have not yet seen the Illinois LEP targeting food processing establishments, we expect both programs will involve an inspection and review of production operations and working conditions; injury and illness records; safety and health programs; and hazardous energy control methods to identify and correct workplace hazards at all applicable inspection sites.

Why Is OSHA Targeting the Food Manufacturing Industry?

After examining data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for Wisconsin employers with a primary North American Industry Classification (NAICS) code in the 311xxx range, OSHA determined that food manufacturing industry injuries occurred at higher rates than found in other sectors. In OSHA’s view, the data demonstrates higher rates of total reportable cases; cases involving days away from work, job restriction or transfers, fractures, amputations, cuts, lacerations, punctures, heat burns, chemical burns, and corrosions. As such, OSHA’s stated goal in launching this LEP is to encourage employers to identify, reduce, and eliminate hazards associated with exposure to machine hazards during production activities and off-shift sanitation, service, and maintenance tasks.

Which Employers Will Be Targeted? Continue reading →