Advocacy

ACOEM does not support the National Association of the Deaf’s petition to FMCSA to rescind the requirement for interstate drivers of commercial motor vehicles to be able to hear and speak, and to rescind the rule prohibiting the use of interpreters during the administration of the commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills test. The College recommends that the safest course of action is to keep the present waiver system in place.

ACOEM recently expressed its support for S. 851, Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.

On Janaury 14, 2020, ACOEM submitted a letter of record for the January 15 hearing on Cannabis Policies for the New Decade of the Congressional Subcommittee on Health.
 

ACOEM strongly supports OSHA’s proposal to include both construction and shipyard workers under the beryllium rule. However, the College expresses concern that other proposed changes to the rule will diminish health protection for workers exposed to beryllium, compared to the final rule that OSHA promulgated on January 9, 2017.

ACOEM responds to OSHA regarding effectiveness of engineering and work practice controls in the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction, 



 

As the U.S. Congress looks at a number of legislative proposals relating to federal marijuana policy, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) cautions legislators to avoid piecemeal solutions.  Regardless of marijuana’s legal status in a jurisdiction, ACOEM strongly supports legislative proposals that allow employers to prohibit those employed in safety-sensitive positions from working while under the influence of marijuana.
 

Any operator with ultimate responsibility for operating automated driving systems must not have any medical issue which might interfere with their cognitive function to ensure that they are able to react if and when the need arose, states ACOEM in response to FMCSA's request for comments on safe integration of automated driving systems (ADS)-equipped commercial motor vehicles.

ACOEM supports a National Clearinghouse tol improve the process of identifying commercial drivers who should not be performing safety-sensitive functions because of a violation of agency drug and alcohol testing regulations.

ACOEM expresses its appreciation to Rep. Bobby Scott, Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, for his amendment to prohibit OSHA for rolling back the beryllium standards for construction and maritime workers.