How does dying Ground Zero worker feel about Bin Laden’s death? Meh. #OBL

• New York reacts to Bin Laden’s death: Dying Ground Zero worker: ‘It doesn’t change my life’

When Daniel Arrigo, a former construction worker, read the news on a blog Sunday night, he was lying in bed, as he does most of the time, tethered to an oxygen tank. Mr. Arrigo worked 15-hour shifts, seven days a week, mainly flagging trucks while breathing in soot and debris at the World Trade Center site for the first four or five months after the attacks. He had two strokes in 2003, and by 2008 was suffering from severe lung disease, for which he is being treated at Mount Sinai Medical Center’s World Trade Center health monitoring program. He is now dependent on respirators and eight medications a day, and hoping for a lung transplant.

• Mining industry seeks ‘voluntary’ safety program

Today’s House committee hearing on “Modernizing Mine Safety” hadn’t even started yet when the press release showed up in my email inbox, promoting the testimony of Arch Coal safety vice president Tony Bumbico on behalf of the National Mining Association. Among other proposals: Bumbico encouraged the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to adopt a program of mine safety modeled on the very successful Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) administered by the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which promotes a cooperative approach to workplace safety.

• Safety blitz at WV Massey Energy mine, 20 instances of aggravated misconduct

The Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Adminstration (MSHA) issued a news release yesterday reporting on the results of an inspection at Inman Energy’s Randolph coal mine, a subsidiary of Massey Energy. MSHA chief Joe Main said: “the conduct and behavior exhibited when we caught the mine operator by surprise is nothing short of outrageous. …The conditions observed at Randolph Mine place miners at serious risk to the threat of fire, explosion and black lung. Yet, MSHA inspectors can’t be at every mine every day. Our continuing challenge is counteracting the egregious behavior of certain mine operators.”

• S.C. denies its workers dignity and safety

Of course, few in the Palmetto State have ever heard of Workers Memorial Day. After all, this state has had a long and ugly relationship with its workforce. You probably have heard of South Carolina’s first workers. They were called slaves — and you know how that ended. Things didn’t get much better for workers after the Civil War. Any attempt to organize or create unions or cooperative stores was met in much the same way as slave rebellions of the past — by police, militia, mob violence, or some combination of the three.

• California Chamber opposes OSHA changes

Here’s a brief note I came across from the California Chamber of Commerce. It’s opposing a bill by that could increase the costs for employers to appeal citations from California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The bill calls for several changes to the appeals process and allows for the awarding of attorney fees, consultants fees, witness fees from the employer of up to $5,000 if the division prevails on its appeal.

• Calif. agents: Tread carefully when providing workplace safety advice

“Woe to the employer who is not attentive and actively engaged in health and safety.” That’s the warning the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is giving employers in the Golden State that are at risk of committing a serious workplace safety violation, according to Donald Dodson, managing consultant for Aspen Risk Management Group.

• Deputy fire chief alleges sex discrimination

The top-ranking female member of the High Point Fire Department has accused City Manager Strib Boynton of gender discrimination by denying her a promotion. Deputy Chief Martha Younts told the City Council Monday she filed a grievance with the city against Boynton, arguing that her qualifications, education and experience exceed those of recently-appointed Interim Chief Lee Knight, who Boynton picked to lead the department following the retirement of former Chief David Taylor.

• Clinic for porn performers shuts doors for good

AIM Medical Associates, formerly Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, has officially shut down. AVN reports that clinic owner Sharon Mitchell confirmed that the closure was due to “financial hardship.” The AIM database has been taken offline, making it impossible for producers to check the status of performers’ tests.

• OSHA cites turbine servicing company for ‘egregious’ violations

Outland Renewable Services has been issued six citations for willful safety violations after a wind farm technician suffered severe burns from an electrical arc flash on Oct. 20, 2010. The company, a servicing and maintenance provider in the wind tower industry, faces proposed penalties of $378,000.

• Assisted living center cited after needle stick

An assisted living center has been cited with 17 safety and health violations after a nurse practitioner allegedly was hurt in a needle stick incident. The agency has levied $72,000 in penalties.

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Security for federal workers post-bin Laden, significant brain damage in ex-NFL player, more

• Security on minds of workers upon news of bin Laden’s death

While the killing of Osama bin Laden has captured the notice of people all over the world, those who work in federal buildings had special reason to pay attention to President Obama’s announcement Sunday night. After all, it was federal employees who were targeted on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists sent by bin Laden flew an airplane into the largest federal building, the Pentagon, killing 184, not including the hijackers.

• Writing safety rules could get tougher for FAA

New airline safety regulations, including long-sought rules aimed at preventing exhausted pilots from flying, will be harder to issue if an industry-backed measure supported by House Republicans becomes law, federal aviation and safety officials are warning Congress. A bill providing authority for Federal Aviation Administration programs that the House passed in March contains an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. It would change the way the FAA goes about making regulations, including requiring an analysis of the effect proposed rules may have on the economy, private markets, productivity, employment and competitiveness.

• New monitor kicks up a dust storm

A new device called a personal dust monitor could soon bring the hazardous and dirty job of underground coal mining a step further into the 21st century. But even some fans of the technology say its broad adoption by the mining industry faces hurdles, as business, regulators and labor all weigh in on how it should be used.

• Worker’s comp law started in Wisconsin 100 years ago on May 3, 1911

If you hurt yourself at work today, thank Wisconsin Gov. Francis McGovern and the state legislature of 100 years ago for the benefits and pay you’ll get while recuperating. The nation’s first worker’s compensation law guaranteed by the state constitution was signed into law 100 years ago by Gov. McGovern on May 3, 1911, after getting overwhelming support in both the state Senate and Assembly.

• New law can shield firms in marijuana lawsuits

A new state law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday, could shield some employers from lawsuits if they wish to fire workers who are under the influence of medical marijuana or prescription drugs on the job.

• OSHA updates shipyard regulations

A new final rule from OSHA updates its standards for work done in shipyards, in particular work done on live electrical equipment. Much of the rule’s text concerns lockout/tagout. It was published May 2 and will take effect Aug. 1, 2011.

• Advanced trauma found in brain of ex-NFL player who killed himself

The brain of a former National Football League player who committed suicide in February, Dave Duerson, showed “moderately advanced” signs of a dementia-like disease linked to athletes who have suffered repeated brain trauma.

• The truth about Jessica

Jessica Lynch became an icon of the war. An all-American heroine, the story of her capture by the Iraqis and her rescue by US special forces became one of the great patriotic moments of the conflict. It couldn’t have happened at a more crucial moment, when the talk was of coalition forces bogged down, of a victory too slow in coming. Releasing its five-minute film to the networks, the Pentagon claimed that Lynch had stab and bullet wounds, and that she had been slapped about on her hospital bed and interrogated.

• OSHA cites Parker Hannifin facility in Mississippi with 33 safety and health violations, proposes more than $487,000 in fines

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 33 citations to the Parker Hannifin Corp. plant in Batesville, Miss., alleging numerous safety and health violations as the result of an inspection that began November 2010. Proposed penalties total $487,700. Cleveland, Ohio-based Parker Hannifin has 170 facilities throughout the U.S. and manufactures machinery for hydraulics, air conditioning, refrigeration and aerospace systems.

• Survey: Are unpaid internships okay?

This month there has been a debate brewing over unpaid internships: Are they legal? Are there too many? If there were more regulations, would there be fewer opportunities for college students? Can companies afford to pay interns? Michael True, director of the Internship Center at Messiah College and a college internship guru, has put together a national survey for employers and others.

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Standing up for guest workers, iTunes app for workplace bullying & your worst office phobias

• Standing up for guest workers

Slavery and human trafficking are alive and well in the United States, according to lawsuits filed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of farm laborers in Hawaii and Washington State and shipyard workers on the Gulf Coast.

• Cancer in blue-collar workers

About 1 million women, according to the Cancer Prevention Coalition (preventcancer.com), work in industries that expose them to more than 50 carcinogens linked to breast cancer. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In a large number of cases, cancer is preventable. This fact applies especially to carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals in the workplace.

• From racism to lung cancer, workers cope with life in the logistics industry

On Thursday April 28, 10 workers from a Kraft-Cadbury warehouse in the Chicago suburb of Joliet filed discrimination claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging race, gender and age discrimination. Managers have done nothing to address graffiti depicting swastikas and the letters “KKK” in break rooms and bathrooms at the warehouse, the workers say, or to deal with a worker who flies a Confederate flag on his truck.

• Government muzzles watchdogs, silences whistleblowers

Somewhere at the Environmental Protection Agency, there is an obscure special office designed to settle grievances about discrimination and bias. But over the years, the Office of Civil Rights has slowly morphed from an outlet for adjudicating inequities to a bureaucratic black hole where complaints vaporize without a trace.

• What does Jack Kevorkian, Rick Snyder, and Mark Jansen all have in common?

They believe that more carbon monoxide is better to get the job done. Michigan State Senator Mark C. Jansen (R) of the 28th District introduced Senate Bill 0014 earlier this year that calls for the Repeal of the Michigan OSH Act, or MIOSHA, which would then revert back to Federal OSHA jurisdiction. At issue with many Michigan Workers is that the air contaminant standards that the Federal OSHA employs is significantly less stringent than the Michigan OSHA’s air contaminant rules.

• Nonprofit calls for more workplace safety inspectors

A nonprofit worker safety group is calling on Gov. Jerry Brown to lift a statewide hiring freeze to enable the state worker safety agency to hire more inspectors. Gail Bateson, executive director of the Oakland-based nonprofit Worksafe, said the step is needed to investigate scores of injuries and deaths. No general fund dollars would be needed to hire dozens more inspectors, she said.

• Four decades of OSHA

Forty years ago this week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration came into existence with the daunting task of protecting America’s workers. Before OSHA, workplace safety was governed by a hodgepodge of state and federal laws, which didn’t serve the nation well. But, as we have noted before, there is still much to be done. Millions of people are injured or sickened each year. An untold number of workers are exposed to some sort of carcinogen or toxin and won’t see the symptoms for years.

• OSHA cites North Arlington, NJ, chair manufacturer for exposing workers to safety and health hazards, including combustible dust

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Sterling Seating Inc. for 34 workplace health and safety violations at its North Arlington facility, including exposing workers to combustible dust hazards. Proposed penalties total $117,600.

• iTunes App supporting workplace bullying?

Yesterday I found an application in the iTunes store that made me shudder : Office Jerk. (produced by Fluik Entertainment Inc.) Scary fact: It is the number 1 in the top free apps category.

• I’m afraid of my paycheck: The most feared workplace phobias

“I’d love to accept the position,” says Laura Walker, the eager, well-qualified 20-something you’ve just hired. “But there’s one thing I feel I should tell you. I’m a papyrophobe, so will have to work in a paperless environment. Or else, I’ll have to work from home.” For Walker, a recent college graduate looking for work in public relations in Orlando, Fla., and the other 19 million Americans afflicted with specific phobias, fear of something seemingly trivial—like paper—is far from laughable.

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