WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2016) Henry Chajet of Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s preeminent workplace law firms, testified yesterday on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections at a Congressional hearing entitled “Reviewing Recent Changes to OSHA’s Silica Standards.” The new silica rule, issued March 25 (81 Fed. Reg. 16,285), sets a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for airborne crystalline silica of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (50 μg/m3) for general industry, construction and maritime employers – half the old general industry PEL.
“Everyone wants OSHA to succeed in its mission of working with industry and employees in protecting the safety and health of the nation’s workforce,” said Mr. Chajet. “While we do not challenge whether exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) presents a hazard, current data undermine OSHA’s conclusion that a significant risk is present in contemporary workplaces.”
“OSHA’s new regulation will place massive new burdens on responsible employers already preventing risks and do nothing to gain full compliance,” he continued.
Mr. Chajet, who is Of Counsel in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis, counsels and represents clients in environmental, health and safety (EH&S) matters and antitrust matters, focusing on crisis management, dispute resolution, trial and appellate litigation, standard setting, liability prevention, regulatory and congressional proceedings and “direct purchaser” overcharge recoveries for corporate clients in antitrust price manipulation cases. He defends investigations and enforcement actions by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and other federal and state agencies, as well as in related tort claims and criminal cases, and in EH&S whistleblower or discrimination claims.
Mr. Chajet’s full testimony can be found here.
Jackson Lewis’ Washington, D.C. Region office can be reached at (703) 483-8300.
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About Jackson Lewis
Founded in 1958, Jackson Lewis is dedicated to representing management exclusively in workplace law. With 800 attorneys practicing in major locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Jackson Lewis is included in the AmLaw 100 and Global 100 rankings of law firms. The firm’s wide range of practice areas provides the resources to address every aspect of the employer/employee relationship.
Jackson Lewis is a leader in educating employers about the laws of equal opportunity and, as a firm, understands the importance of having a workforce that reflects the various communities it serves.
Jackson Lewis is a founding member of L&E Global Employers’ Counsel Worldwide, an alliance of premier employment law firms in Europe, North and South America and the Asia Pacific Region.
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