A LOOK AT DORMANT OSHA COMMITTEES

The following committees, set up to advise the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, have gone dormant under President Donald Trump:

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AND HEALTH

Established: 1969

Number of members: 15; eight members’ terms expired in September; the rest will expire in July. The committee lacks a quorum and cannot convene.

Last meeting: June 20

Role: Has provided expertise on every OSHA standard in the construction industry for decades and must be consulted before the Department of Labor finalizes any construction industry-related rule-making, from ergonomic guidelines to work with hexavalent chromium

Pending issues: Preventing trucks from backing up and killing workers, a common cause of death at construction sites, and new telecommunication tower standards, prompted by workers falling to their deaths while working on the towers

NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

Established: 1969

Number of members: 12; six members’ terms expired at the end of 2017; the rest will expire at the end of this year. The committee lacks a quorum and cannot convene.

Last meeting: Nov. 15, 2016

Role: Advises on issues from reducing illness and injury in poultry line assembly to blood-borne pathogens, working closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The group helped push forward silica regulations that were adopted in 2016.

Pending issues: Regulations to protect temporary workers and emergency responders

FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

Established: 1971

Number of members: 16; all members were effectively fired on Sept. 29 by executive order

Last meeting: Sept. 8, 2016

Role: Developed federal training guidelines, adopted by OSHA, for workers’ health and safety, and helped to ensure that federal contractors work with unions on developing safe environments for such work as refueling nuclear submarines

Pending issues: Recommendations to prevent workers at federal sites in Florida from Zika exposure

MARITIME ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

Established: 1995

Members: 15; all members’ terms expired in February.

Last meeting: Aug. 10, 2016

Roll: Provides advice and technical expertise on health and safety issues in shipyards, the longshore industry and commercial fishing vessels. Since the committee was created, fewer maritime workers have died annually of asphyxiation or drowning.

Pending issues: Implementation of a new, more aggressive beryllium standard that will take effect in May. Also, guidelines to prevent lead and other toxic exposure during welding.

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Established: 2012

Members: 12; six members’ terms expired in November; the rest will expire at the end of November 2018. The committee lacks a quorum and cannot convene.

Last meeting: April 26, 2016

Role: Developed a first-of-its kind guideline for how employers in 22 industries should address whistleblower issues and created a forum at its meetings for the public to bring up issues they felt had been unfairly dealt with

Pending issues: Whistleblower protection issues within the railroad industry, improving the relationship between OSHA’s health and safety programs and its whistleblower protection programs