The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its top 10 frequently-cited workplace safety violations for fiscal year 2024 for the metalcasting industry. The data for iron, steel and aluminum foundries highlighted below covers violations cited from October 1, 2023, through September 5, 2024. 

The information provides valuable insights into OSHA’s enforcement activities during the year and trends in workplace health and safety risks. Lockout/tagout, overexposure to crystalline silica, and respiratory protection continue to top the list of violations for both ferrous and nonferrous foundries. Metalcasters should consider using this list as a guide for their workplace safety programs and their internal compliance audits. The AFS Safety Committee meets quarterly to discuss key safety and health matters and share best practices––the next committee meeting will be held the first week of December.

Increase in Minimum Wage for Federal Contract Workers Takes Effect Jan. 1

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced that the minimum wage rate that must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts will rise from $17.20 to $17.75 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2025. A poster reflecting the new Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate will be publicly available on the WHD website on January 1, 2025.

There are a number of pending lawsuits challenging the Biden administration’s authority to impose the minimum wage increase for federal contractors. It is unlikely these cases will be resolved prior to Jan. 1. Metalcasters should not count on a reprieve before the mandated wage hike takes effect. 

NLRB Expands Crackdown on Noncompetes, Other Key Contractual Provisions

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel released a memo in October urging the board to find non-compete agreements (particularly “stay-or-pay” practices) unlawful and broaden the remedies available for such cases. The general counsel asserts that non-compete and “stay-or-pay” agreements hinder employees’ rights to engage in concerted activities under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act based on the theory it restricts employee mobility.

The memo specifically outlines a proposed framework for assessing the lawfulness of a range of “stay-or-pay” provisions, including training repayment agreement provisions, educational repayment contracts, quit fees, sign-on bonuses, or other types of cash payments tied to a mandatory stay period, and other contracts under which employees must pay their employer in the event they voluntarily or involuntarily leave their job. 

The new guidance paves the way for employees who claim a non-compete agreement prevented them from pursuing a better job opportunity to obtain remedies. These remedies would require the employer to compensate the employee for the difference, including pay and benefits, between what they would have received absent the provision and what they actually did receive. 

Former employees may also be eligible for relief if they adhered to an unlawful non-compete provision during their post-employment period and can demonstrate that it caused them to be out of work longer than they otherwise would have been. Possible relief may include compensation for lost wages, moving expenses, retraining costs, and other foreseeable damages. To mitigate legal risk, metalcasters are advised to consult with legal counsel before enforcing any non-compete agreements or entering into new agreements with employees.