Victim’s kin push law to protect social workers
A Revere, Mass., group home where a young staffer was brutally butchered, allegedly by a violent patient with a long rap sheet, was slapped with sanctions by federal officials while the slain counselor’s family is pushing for a new law in her name to protect social workers. Stephanie Moulton’s mother, Kimberly Flynn of Peabody, said the family is working with state lawmakers on Stephanie’s Law, a bill that would require panic buttons in all mental health facilities.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0729bvictims_kin_push_law_to_protect_social_workersb/
Home health workers are sick of being shut out of labor law
As walking canes replace running shoes, and the parents who raised us start needing to be cared for themselves, the first dawn of America’s aging boom approaches. But even as the “gray wave” looms on the horizon, the way we treat the workers who care for our elders lags generations behind. Hundreds of thousands of home care workers remain excluded from the country’s key labor laws.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11763/health_workers_at_home_are_sick_of_being_shut_out_of_labor_law/
Homeowners can be held “at fault” when hiring unlicensed contractors for remodeling
With an increase in home remodeling, the California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors (CALPASC) is urging homeowners to think twice before hiring contractors who may be members of the underground or semi-underground economies for remodeling projects. California law holds that a “significant residential remodel,” defined as projects including demolition and rebuilding a significant portion of the house, and new construction fall under Cal/OSHA safety regulations. As such, the homeowner is treated as an employer and required to furnish a safe place of employment.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/homeowners-can-be-held-at-fault-when-hiring-unlicensed-contractors-for-remodeling-126410923.html
OSHA issues fines after worker is pulled into a mixing machine
OSHA has cited three Brooklyn, N.Y., tortilla manufacturers after a young worker was killed when he became caught in the unguarded auger of a machine used to mix tortilla dough at Tortilleria Chinantla Inc.
http://ehstoday.com/standards/osha/worker-pulled-into-mixing-machine-0729/
Working in the heat is no sweat for some in Oklahoma
Medical professionals say the danger is real for those who work outside. The threat is taken seriously on a national level by officials at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. David Bates, the administration’s area director in Oklahoma City, said the agency takes two primary approaches to protect outdoor workers.
http://newsok.com/working-in-the-heat-is-no-sweat-for-some-in-oklahoma/article/3589755
Pilot crashes in Lake Huron, swims 18 hours
Michael Trapp, the pilot who tread water and swam without a life jacket for 18 hours after his small plane crashed into Lake Huron, told his story to reporters Thursday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pilot-crashes-in-lake-huron-swims-18-hours/2011/07/28/gIQAD7HTfI_video.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost
