The AGC Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Forum meets virtually on a quarterly basis to gather/share information, resources, and best practices among stakeholders in the construction industry. The next forum is scheduled for October 18, 2pm – 3pm, Eastern Time. If you would like to participate in the forum, please sign up here. You are encouraged to browse the website created to house important and lifesaving tools related to mental health and suicide prevention.
During a series of Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel discussions convened by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), between September 7 and 19, AGC members John Morris (President, Morris Inc.), Kellie Kimball (Vice President, Holes Inc.), and Anthony E. Gonzalez (Partner, The Gonzalez Group) provided critical testimony on the potential impacts of OSHA’s proposed heat standard on small businesses in construction.
On September 18, AGC, along with industry partners on the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), submitted comments in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) notice of proposed rulemaking to require employers to provide employees with “proper-fitting” Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This move would align the construction, general industry, and maritime standards related to PPE, but raises significant concerns due to the ambiguity of the proposed language and lack of clarity surrounding compliance obligations and enforcement.
Each year, in partnership with WTW and Milwaukee Tool, AGC recognizes outstanding companies and professionals in the industry for their passion and commitment to safety through the:
On September 11, AGC, along with industry partners on the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), submitted comments on Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) proposal to update its existing standards to better protect miners against occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica.
The federal government is seeking to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug. How does this impact your construction workplace?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over the past 10 years, at least, an average of 346 workers were killed from falls, slips, and trips, and nonfatal injuries and illnesses that resulted from falls, slips, and trips occurred at a rate of 31.4 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2020. Moreover, fall protection violations continue to be among the most cited standards in the construction industry, consistently topping the list of OSHA’s most frequently cited violations.
Every year, during September — National Suicide Prevention Month — the construction industry dedicates a week to raising awareness about the high number of suicides in the industry, and to provide resources to help prevent those deaths.
On August 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a proposal to amend its regulation authorizing which individuals can serve as representatives of employees and employers during the physical inspection of a workplace. OSHA’s stated purpose is to clarify the right of workers and certified bargaining units to specify a worker or union representative regardless of whether the representative is an employee of the employer, even in the absence of a recognized collective bargaining agreement.
From April 19 through June 9, 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored a Beat the Heat Contest to raise awareness of the dangers and hazards of heat exposure in both indoor and outdoor workplaces. Participants created a variety of awareness tools to increase worker and employer knowledge about hazardous heat in the workplace – ideas, logos, infographics, entire communications campaigns, videos and skits, and checklists, among others. OSHA received 195 submissions to the contest, from 40 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.