Like the retail behemoth at its center, everything about the Supreme Court extravaganza known as Wal-Mart v. Dukes is super-sized. The number of women who could be included in the sex discrimination class-action suit is measured in millions. The amount of damages for which the nation’s largest private employer could be liable is estimated in billions. If the Supreme Court agrees the case can move forward, it would be the largest employment discrimination class-action suit in U.S. history.
As radiation levels at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant reached a new high Sunday, workers contended with dark, steamy conditions in their efforts to repair the facility’s cooling system and stave off a full-blown nuclear meltdown. Leaked water sampled from one unit Sunday had 100,000 times the radioactivity of normal background levels, although the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, first calculated an even higher, erroneous, figure it didn’t correct for hours.
Ceremonies and events honoring the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire that killed 146 garment workers—most of them young women—and spurred the first nationwide call for workplace safety, continue Monday morning with a special online forum that will examine the connection between a voice at work and job safety.
Governor Chris Gregoire Thursday encouraged legislators to act on executive request legislation that would give the Department of Corrections the funding needed to implement a series of safety enhancements recommended by the National Institute of Corrections.
The forensic report on the Deepwater Horizon’s blowout preventer (BOP) was released to the public on March 23, 2011. The next step in the investigation will be to try and reconcile it with the report of the Chief Counsel of the Oil Spill Commission . There are two major public policy issues: worker safety and spill prevention; we don’t want either dead workers or oil spills.
Massey Energy Co. has been hit with more than 80 citations for safety violations uncovered in the latest round of special inspections by federal regulators.
One week from today will mark the first anniversary of the Upper Big Branch coal mine disaster where 29 men lost their lives from an enormous and powerful explosion. Those left behind–the parents, spouses, children and friends—have lives that are changed forever. Ken Ward and Gary Harki of the Charleston (WV) Gazette share a touching story of Ms. Bobbie Pauley, a rare female coal miner who worked at the Upper Big Branch mine. It’s a must read story.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, filed a petition March 24 asking OSHA to enact a regulation prohibiting direct physical contact between employees and elephants in any type of business where elephants are in captivity — zoos, circuses, etc.
A coalition of four state employee unions called Safety Now! plans to protest a conference of state officials gathering in Napa today starting at 11 a.m. to discuss workplace safety issues in California’s mental health system. The Safety Now! coalition says in a press release issued Friday that it’s tired of the Department of Mental Health “wasting time and money on meetings and immediately implement a list of basic measures to quell the violence against employees and patients” at Napa State Hospital.
President Obama held a White House conference this month to discuss ways to prevent bullying in school. But bullying is a problem not just among young people. Thirty-five percent of Americans in a survey said they had been bullied at some time at work.
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