Media Mentions
2010
James Lastowka was quoted by the Orlando Sentinel on June 28 concerning the efforts of SeaWorld Orlando to reach a pre-citation settlement with the U.S. Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) in the death of a killer whale trainer at the facility. With such and advance settlement, Mr. Lastowka said, “You can reach an agreement to separate the wheat from the chaff – before it comes out.” While OSHA has not commented on the settlement possibility, Mr. Lastowka noted that when the agency does announce acceptance of such an agreement, “There’s usually a more positive tone in the press release. There’s agreement and finality.”
James A. Lastowka, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
Eric Conn and James Lastowka were both cited by Human Resource Executive Online (April 9) in a story about stepped-up Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforcement. Mr. Conn urged employers to conduct record-keeping audits to ensure that OSHA logs reporting all applicable illnesses and injuries are up to date, particularly as reporting standards change. Mr. Lastowka said that while companies may have OSHA compliance rules, they should “look at how effectively they’re being implemented and followed on the workplace floor,” adding that OSHA will look at whether companies “have reacted appropriately” on such issues as control of employee exposure to potentially harmful worksite materials.
James A. Lastowka, Labor & Employment, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
James Lastowka provided Q&A responses in a January 2010 Clement Communications Special Report on David Michaels, the new head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Citing references to Michaels as "a new sheriff in town," Mr. Lastowka observed that "sheriffs enforce the law and that is what OSHA will be doing, in part to make up for what it sees as eight years of lax OSHA enforcement by the Bush Administration. They will be hiring more inspectors, conducting more inspections, characterizing more of the citations as serious, ... and substantially increasing the size of proposed penalties." Mr. Lastowka warned employers that "the only way to avoid OSHA fines is to understand and comply with OSHA requirements. If you are not in compliance and you are inspected, citations and fines will be issued." Click here to view the full article.
James A. Lastowka, Labor & Employment, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
2009
James Lastowka spoke to EHS Today on December 1 concerning future occupational safety and health issues that companies are facing. He identified “the promised aggressive enforcement by the ‘new sheriff in town’” as the most significant new issue, adding: “There is a need and a place for strong enforcement when and where it is deserved. But a commitment to bring major enforcement actions to ‘send a message’ that does not also include a focused and objective effort to sort out the truly bad actors from those companies that actually do commit resources to safety is misguided.” Mr. Lastowka observed that “OSHA must be careful to not sacrifice the reputation of a company that makes substantial safety efforts to a perceived need for a dramatic headline to demonstrate its toughness and leverage its enforcement clout.”
James A. Lastowka, Labor & Employment, OSHA, MSHA & Catastrophe Response
2008
Arthur G. Sapper, Robert C. Gombar, and James A. Lastowka were mentioned in the January 2008 issue of Occupational Hazards regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission's re-examination of a 1993 precedent allowing OSHA to issue citations for recordkeeping violations that are more than 6 months old. Volks Constructors, with a friend of the court brief from the National Federation of Independent Business, is challenging the precedent. Mr. Sapper, Mr. Gombar, and Mr. Lastowka are on the brief submitted to the Commission on Volks Constructors' behalf.
James A. Lastowka, Arthur G. Sapper, Government Strategies
2006
James Lastowka was quoted in the March 14 issue of Mine Safety & Health News on Congressional calls for increased MSHA enforcement and penalties in the wake of the Sago Mine disaster.
