Eighth Circuit Rejects OSHA's Attempt To Expand The Scope Of Its Machine Guarding Standard

In a review of an Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled this week to vacate a $490,000 penalty for failure to employ machine guards to prevent the ejection of a workpiece in a catastrophic breakdown of a lathe. Perez v. Loren Cook Company, No. 13-1310, __ F.3rd __ (8th Cir. October 13, 2015).

In its decision, the Court agreed with the OSHRC and its Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), which concluded that 29 CFR § 1910.212(a)(1) focuses on "point-of-contact risks and risks associated with the routine operation of lathes, such as flakes and sparks," but the rule does not contemplate the catastrophic failure of a lathe that would result in a workpiece being thrown out of the lathe. The ALJ vacated the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's (OSHA's) citation issued...