After spending a record amount this election season to change the balance of power in Washington, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this week plans to announce a pro-business agenda that will include attacking federal regulations in four areas: labor, energy, healthcare and financial services.
On January 29, OSHA proposed a simple revision to a paper form—called the OSHA 300 log—on which some U.S. employers are required to record work-related injuries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects a sample of these forms annually to estimate national rates of work-related injuries. The change proposed by OSHA involves adding a column to the form so that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) would be distinguished from other conditions like amputations, burns, fractures, etc.
The New York Times reported Monday on a striking phenomenon that is both highly disturbing and a potential boon for lawsuits regarding workplace health and safety. The Times describes the recent rise of financial institutions financing lawsuits as a form of investment, putting up money for lawyers, experts and legal costs and collecting interest on these loans, interest that continues to accrue as legal proceedings drag on or settlements are slow in coming.
Do you feel physically safe at work? A new report from the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety shows that while about half of state agencies and public authorities haven’t provided employees with workplace violence prevention training as required by the Workplace Violence Prevention Law.
Like two-bit Willie Suttons, the burglars go where the money is: gas stations and convenience stores. Convenience store workers, especially those who work at night, are among the occupational groups most at risk for workplace injury or homicide, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment will launch a new killer-whale show next spring in its three U.S. marine parks, as it attempts to move beyond the February death of a trainer that has shadowed the company for nearly a year.
Noted labor historian Joe Burns has called the lockout of 230 workers at the Honeywell uranium processing facility in Metropolis, Ill., the highest profile ongoing labor dispute in the country right now. Despite this, not a single major news outlet outside of the Huffington Post has covered the story.
A former Metro Nashville employee said a city agency fired him for blowing the whistle on worker safety. The firing comes a month after the 16-year veteran of the Metro Transit Authority spoke to the Channel 4 I-Team for a story about how workers said they were trapped during the May flood. A current member of the city’s transportation committee said he believes Aaron Rahman is being retaliated against by MTA.
California workplace safety officials are reviewing a long list of allegations of unsafe working conditions and practices that may endanger visitors, leveled at Wildhaven Ranch last month by former employees and volunteers.
