Following bus crash in New York, Brown turns up pressure to tighten safety regulations for tour bus
Following reports of another tour bus crash, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) stepped up pressure to pass comprehensive legislation to strengthen safety standards for tour busses to prevent these types of crashes. The tour bus crash is the latest in a string of accidents that have left 32 people dead and 323 injured.
http://politicalnews.me/?id=8422&keys=TOUR-BUS-SAFETY-REGULATIONS
Researchers target safety on Gulf shrimp boats
Mang Vo wanted to make a lasting impression on his shrimping safety class when he learned many of the fishermen didn’t know how to make a proper mayday call. After some told him they use cell phones during emergencies at sea, he pulled an old cell from his pocket and smashed it against a wall. But for many shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico, mayday calls via the radio have been a difficult if not impossible task for one simple reason: They don’t know English.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/researchers-target-safety-on-gulf-shrimp-boats-1644975.html
Proposed road rules for farmers anger some
Tractors lumbering down country roads are as common as deer in rural Montana, but the federal government wants to place new driving regulations on farmers and ranchers. “It’s a huge deal for us,” said John Youngberg of the Montana Farm Bureau. After years of allowing state governments to waive commercial driver’s license requirements for farmers hauling crops or driving farm equipment on public roads, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is poised to do away with the exceptions.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_b4d19624-a1f2-57b8-9194-35fe00e17403.html
DOL files whistleblower lawsuit against Full Circle Enterprises
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, alleging that Full Circle Enterprises Inc. of Conroe illegally terminated an employee because of complaints regarding illegal drug use and a lack of proper respirators to protect employees from paint fumes at the facility.
http://www.examiner.com/workplace-issues-in-houston/dol-files-whistleblower-lawsuit-against-full-circle-enterprises
Respirator company sues Massey/Alpha
Massey Energy, now Alpha Natural Resources, and Don Blankenship, are being sued by a mine safety equipment company who claims Massey is responsible for black lung in one of its employees. Don Dotson sued Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), a Pennsylvania company that manufactures the respirators Dotson wore while he was working underground for Massey. The suit claimed Dotson had contracted black lung disease due to the failure of the respirators manufactured by the company. However, MSA has filed suit in Mingo County Circuit Court, claiming that Massey, and its CEO Don Blankenship in particular, are responsible for Dotson’s black lung, due to the company’s disregard for the safety of its employees.
http://www.williamsondailynews.com/view/full_story/14796183/article-Respirator-company-sues-Massey-Alpha-?instance=home_news_lead
State safety officials are investigating six possible heat-related deaths
California workplace-safety officials are investigating six possible heat-related deaths since April, including those of two farmworkers, a police officer and a drilling crew member.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/07/state-safety-officials-investigating-six-heat-related-deaths-.html
12 workers fired for not braving heat
The heat index Thursday was in the neighborhood of 115 degrees, but 12 local union workers said they were fired because they were not willing to spend 10 hours in it.
http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/12-workers-fired-for-not-braving-heat
