Tag:Compliance

1
Code Orange Moving to Green: New Building Code for Construction Sector
2
How Are Your Construction Activities Regulated under OSHA’s Final Silica Rule?

Code Orange Moving to Green: New Building Code for Construction Sector

By Duncan Fletcher and Miriam Power, K&L Gates Perth

Background
The passing of the Registered Organisations Bill on by the Senate on Tuesday 22 November 2016 and the passage of the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill (ABCC Bill) on 30 November 2016 following protracted negotiations between the government and the crossbench brings the two Bills the government used to trigger the double dissolution election earlier this year full circle.

Apart from re-establishing the construction regulator (the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner), the ABCC Bill, once enacted, will implement the Building and Construction Industry (Fair and Lawful Building Sites) Code (Code). The Code establishes an enforcement framework under which building industry participants may be excluded from tendering for or being awarded Commonwealth-funded building work if they are non-compliant.

To read the full alert on K&L Gates HUB, click here.

How Are Your Construction Activities Regulated under OSHA’s Final Silica Rule?

By Barry M. Hartman, K&L Gates, Washington, D.C. and Stephen J. Matzura, K&L Gates, Harrisburg

On March 24, 2016, OSHA issued the prepublication version of the final rule regarding occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica, including one standard for the general industry and maritime, and another standard for construction work (“Final Rule”). The rule applicable to construction work will be codified at 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1153. It becomes effective June 23, with compliance obligations beginning at least a year later (June 23, 2017). The more stringent permissible exposure limit (“PEL”) of 50 μg/m3 and the “action level” of 25 μg/m3 are the same as in the proposed rule that OSHA issued in 2013.

The Final Rule essentially creates three categories of construction activities that are regulated differently depending on levels of exposure to respirable silica: (1) activities excluded from regulation; (2) activities listed in Table 1 that are afforded a “safe harbor” from the requirement to conduct an exposure assessment; and (3) activities that require an exposure assessment. Any employers that perform “construction work” – which may also include employers outside of the construction industry – must consider where their activities fall within the construction standard for silica.

Read More

Copyright © 2024, K&L Gates LLP. All Rights Reserved.