Last week, following the devastating Bloomberg Business Week article detailing the human carnage in Southern auto parts facilities, I reported that OSHA had stopped doing pro-active (programmed) inspections in those facilities. After I posted an analysis of that article, I read OSHA’s Regional Emphasis Program (REP) targeting Auto Parts establishments in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and noticed that it had expired on February 4, 2017. Following numerous inquiries to OSHA, I received a cryptic note on Friday, telling me that “The REP has been extended.”
Great!
Except it hasn’t been extended, at least not yet. OSHA’s webpage listing Local Emphasis Programs still lists the expired REP, and OSHA’s policy is that no inspections can take place under an emphasis program until it is posted on the web.
So what’s happening here? Clearly no inspections.