Fifth Circuit Presses OSHA on Machine Hazard Safety Standards

A panel of Fifth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Tuesday of an OSHA citation related to the death of a worker caught in a machine that cuts chickens.

The appeals court judges questioned the nature of federal safety standards, and whether industry customs should be applied based on the lack of specificity in the law. Regarding the safety signs standard, Judge Leslie H. Southwick called into question the necessity of signage for a hazard a machine posed if workers already received training on it.

A key issue of the case weighed whether machine guarding should based on the daily common practice ...