{"id":863119,"date":"2025-07-17T19:12:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T00:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/how-a-seaworld-ruling-could-impact-construction-safety\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T19:12:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T00:12:24","slug":"how-a-seaworld-ruling-could-impact-construction-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/how-a-seaworld-ruling-could-impact-construction-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"How a SeaWorld ruling could impact construction safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span>An article from<\/span><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d12v9rtnomnebu.cloudfront.net\/logo\/printer_friendly\/constructiondive.jpg\" alt=\"site logo\">\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p>                Dive Brief<\/p>\n<p>        <\/span><\/p>\n<p>OSHA wants to narrow its General Duties Clause for athletic and entertainment occupations, leaving the door open for other industries.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span><br \/>\n        Published July 16, 2025<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/editors\/zphillips\/\"><br \/>\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d1b6lhn2ymmy1x.cloudfront.net\/journalist-headshots\/construction\/phillips-zach-circle-150x150.png\" alt=\"Zachary Phillips's headshot\"><br \/>\n                            <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class src=\"https:\/\/imgproxy.divecdn.com\/4naZcqBdqVmns43TS1vqQQ-g8tFlnDbUGfNlzN5o9Tg\/g:ce\/rs:fill:1200:675:1\/Z3M6Ly9kaXZlc2l0ZS1zdG9yYWdlL2RpdmVpbWFnZS9HZXR0eUltYWdlcy0xMDI1NDI2NDg2LmpwZw==.webp\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"   alt=\"A blue clipboard with a white paper that says \"OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration,\" and protective gear lying above it.\"><\/p>\n<figcaption>\n<p>        <span><br \/>\n            designer491 for iStock via Getty Images<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dive Brief:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2025\/07\/01\/2025-12236\/occupational-safety-and-health-standards-interpretation-of-the-general-duty-clause-limitation-for\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>OSHA has proposed a rule<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> to change the way it wields the General Duties Clause, that would exclude enforcement for known hazards &#8220;inherent and inseparable from the core nature of a profession activity or performance.&#8221;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970\u2019s Section 5(a)(1) states employers must create a workplace \u201cfree from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.\u201d The <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/how-oshas-general-duty-clause-applies-to-heat-incidents\/628375\/\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>General Duties Clause<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> is used to cite employers where no existing standard provides specific rules on how to protect workers.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>This new rule change, proposed July 1, would narrow the General Duties Clause, specifically for athletic or entertainment occupations. Still, the proposal invites commenters to indicate other industries that could benefit from the rule narrowing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dive Insight:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201c[The General Duties Clause] was never intended to be a default regulatory device by the government,\u201d said Tampa, Florida-based Phillip Russell, OSHA and employment lawyer, litigator and advisor for Ogletree Deakins. \u201cIn regulating an entire industry, Congress needs to be more specific in its delegation of authority.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Russell said he believes the change will go beyond the entertainment sectors listed in the proposal.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In construction, a General Duties Clause citation could be used for something such as a worker injury or death due to extremely high temperatures \u2014 in the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/osha-hearings-revised-heat-rule-construction\/751749\/\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>continued absence of a heat safety standard<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> \u2014 or other external factors over which an employer has little control, such as a speeding vehicle entering a work zone.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The proposed shift stems from a 2014 court case, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ohsonline.com\/articles\/2014\/04\/11\/osha-wins-seaworld-case.aspx?admgarea=news&#038;m=1\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>SeaWorld of Florida, LLC v. Perez<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld an OSHA citation requiring SeaWorld to abate the hazard of trainers exposed to close contact with orca whales during performances. The dissenting judge in that case was current Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Although OSHA technically won that case, the agency is now saying it agrees with Kavanaugh\u2019s view. At the time, Kavanaugh wrote that the Congress that passed the OSH Act had to have known about hazards in athletic and entertainment professions, such as boxing or working at the circus.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The vague wording of the General Duties Clause, Kavanaugh argued in 2014, shouldn\u2019t grant the Department of Labor the authority to eliminate obviously hazardous aspects of a profession, such as dangerous punt returns or driving at high speeds in Nascar races.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Basically, Russell said, the General Duties Clause is used too broadly according to this rule change.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/seaworld-osha-enforcement-new-rule-construction\/753173\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Zachary Phillips<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An article from Dive Brief OSHA wants to narrow its General Duties Clause for athletic and entertainment occupations, leaving the door open for other industries. Published July 16, 2025 designer491 for iStock via Getty Images This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: OSHA has proposed a rule to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":863120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4601,4272],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-863119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ruling","8":"category-seaworld"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}