Child labor rules stalled at White House as farm accidents continue

Child labor rules stalled at White House as farm accidents continue
Last week, two 17 year olds were critically injured in Oklahoma when they were pulled into a grain augur while on the job. Responders had to cut the augur to free the boys, who were flown to a hospital with severe leg injuries. Yet the White House continues to sit on new child labor rules proposed last year by the Department of Labor that some safety advocates say could have prevented that accident.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/child-labor-rules-white-house_n_927551.html

LaHood hails railroad fatigue rule
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the Federal Railroad Administration’s new final rule limiting the number of consecutive hours passenger railroad workers can work will make passenger train travel proactively safer. For the first time, the rule differentiate between freight and passenger rail service; FRA published it Aug. 12, and it will take effect Oct. 15.
http://ohsonline.com/articles/2011/08/16/lahood-hails-railroad-fatigue-rule.aspx?admgarea=news
a_strong_message/

Bill would require fitted sheets at hotels to protect housekeepers
Business owners and others who have long complained that companies are overburdened by state regulations say a proposal now moving through the Legislature shows that lawmakers have lost all touch with reality: It would require that hotels use fitted sheets. The bill, one of nearly 900 awaiting final action in the Legislature when it returns Monday from a monthlong recess, is intended to address back injuries sustained by hotel housekeepers. But it has revived a long-simmering debate over whether California has become a hyper-regulated “nanny state.”
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/14/local/la-me-bed-sheets-20110814

L.A. city ballot initiative launched for condoms in porn effort
As part of its ongoing campaign to require the use of condoms in porn films shot and produced in California in an effort to reduce the spread of STDs including HIV, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) together with five former adult film performers—two of whom contracted HIV while working in the industry—will launch a City of Los Angeles ballot initiative that would allow Los Angeles voters to weigh in on a measure that would formally condition the issuance of adult film permits by the City of Los Angeles to condom use in adult films shot and produced in Los Angeles, including collection of a fee from adult film permit recipients to allow for periodic inspections of sets in order to monitor for compliance.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110815006763/en/L.A.-City-Ballot-Initiative-Launched-Condoms-Porn

Textile association: MassCOSH report on laundry work “distorts reality”
The Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA) rejected a recent Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) report that suggested textile service workers were exposed to ergonomic injuries and other safety and health hazards. TRSA claimed the report distorts reality and may have been “prompted by union posturing.”
http://ehstoday.com/safety/news/textile-association-masscosh-report-laundry-0815/

Some Gulf spill hydrocarbons remain underwater
Several new studies of the air and water near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill suggest that a collection of toxic hydrocarbons from the spill remain dissolved in the Gulf of Mexico. However, researchers have very different takes on the significances of the data. While some tout the lack of release of these compounds into the atmosphere as good news for cleanup workers’ health, others worry more about oil compounds that are less water-soluble volatilizing and creating environmental hazards.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/89/i34/8934scene1.html

Macon plant fined for safety lapses
Aerospace Defense Coatings of Georgia, a Macon metal coating and painting plant, has been fined about $168,000 in state and federal penalties for serious and in some cases “willful” neglect of worker safety, in addition to violations of hazardous waste storage and air pollution laws.
http://www.macon.com/2011/08/16/1667108/macon-plant-fined-for-safety-lapses.html

OSHA finds safety gaps in Yale death
A piece of lab machinery that killed a Yale University student when it ensnared her hair was missing required safeguards, and the accident exposed problems with the school’s safety policies, federal safety investigators said. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration in a letter obtained by The Associated Press, told school officials that it found numerous problems in the machine shop where Michele Dufault was killed on April 12.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOO_yfbXqYkoJWEL7FHYhEPMu-EA?docId=3000a3c57dba4d6e8bc5a80446ac18a6

Hill Air Force Base warned of serious violations by OSHA
Federal safety inspectors have notified Hill Air Force Base of 32 serious violations of safety and health standards. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a contractor at the base for exposing workers to hazardous contaminants. Herb Gibson, director of OSHA’s Denver area office, says there were more than 100 injuries or illnesses reported out of the base in the past year.
http://kcpw.org/blog/local-news/2011-08-15/hill-air-force-base-warned-of-serious-violations-by-osha/

Chlorine leak injures 20 at Sacramento water park
Twenty people, including nine children, were taken to Sacramento-area hospitals Monday after a high concentration of chlorine was released into the wave pool at Raging Waters, a private water park at the state fairgrounds in Sacramento.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/15/3840057/chlorine-leak-injures-20-at-sacramento.html

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When not even Chinese labor is cheap enough…

Tallying the Benefits of Regulation: Five Worker Health and Safety Rules Have Saved Thousands of Lives, Prevented Tens of Thousands of Injuries
Five major worker health and safety rules, most of which were initially opposed by industry, have saved thousands of lives, prevented tens of thousands of injuries and in at least one case improved productivity, a Public Citizen analysis released today shows.
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/pressroomredirect.cfm?ID=3400

Republican Lawmakers Interfere (Again) in Diesel Cancer Study
The Republican chairmen of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and its Subcommittee on Workforce Protections are invoking “sound science” and “transparency” in a request to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for data and draft publications of a cancer mortality study of underground miners exposed to diesel exhaust. Congressman John Kline (R-MN) and Tim Walberg (R-MI) wrote to NIOSH director John Howard on July 8, suggesting that the agency is violating a 2001 federal court order.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2011/08/republican_lawmakers_interfere.php
a_strong_message/

The NLRB Fear Factor
The National Association of Manufacturers asked its members last month how the National Labor Relations Board’s decision against Boeing’s Sourth Carolina plant case is affecting their decision-making. Some 60% said the government’s case already has—or could—hurt hiring.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576498343574868286.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Good News for Wage-Theft Victims in San Francisco
Wage theft is a national epidemic: It’s estimated that $30 billion or more is stolen from U.S. workers every year by employers. In San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors last week took a major step to prevent wage theft and protect low-wage workers by unanimously approving the Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance. Mayor Edwin Lee still has to sign it into law.
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/08/05/good-news-for-wage-theft-victims-in-san-francisco/

Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Gets It Right: ‘The United States Is In The Dark Ages When It Comes To Maternity Leave’
Fox News’ Megyn Kelly returned to work yesterday after three months of maternity leave, and during her first show, she pummeled shock radio host Mike Gallagher, who back in May called Kelly’s maternity leave “a racket” that was “unbelievable.” Kelly not only took Gallagher to task for poo-pooing the notion that women should be able to stay home with their newborns, but she also pointed out that the U.S. is in “the dark ages when it comes to maternity leave,” as it is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t require employers to give new mothers paid time off.
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/08/11/fox-news%E2%80%99-megyn-kelly-gets-it-right-%E2%80%98the-united-states-is-in-the-dark-ages-when-it-comes-to-maternity-leave%E2%80%99/

Sleep-Deprivation: Can Residents “Learn” to Function with Less Sleep?
How are doctors different from airline pilots? Can they, in fact, learn to function with less sleep? Many physicians argue that learning to remain alert for 28 hours is one of the demands of a profession that expects physicians to be responsible and accountable for their patients. Training residents to work long shifts teaches them endurance, they argue, as well as how to recognize when fatigue begins to degrade their cognitive and physical capabilities.
http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2011/08/sleep-deprivation-can-residents-learn-to-function-with-less-sleep-.html

Cheap Robots vs. Cheap Labor
Workers in China’s export heartland of Guangdong make $200 a month assembling the consumer goods Americans hold so dear. In Jiangsu, they make $175. It seems that isn’t cheap enough. Terry Gou, the founder and chairman of Foxconn, which employs one million workers in China making Apple iPads, H.P. computers and other electronic devices, announced at a company party in Shenzen last month that he would deploy a million robots at his plants by 2013 to do much of the labor currently performed by human hands.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/cheap-robots-vs-cheap-labor.html?_r=1

Potential Looms for First New York City-Wide Construction Strike in 80 Years
Late last week, hundreds of cement workers walked off the job at the World Trade Center Site and several other sites in protest of management association The Cement League’s demand that New York City’s cement workers take a 20 percent wage reduction on residential and hotel projects.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11828/potential_looms_for_first_new_york_city-wide_construction_strike_in_80/

Railroad Punished Worker for Reporting Injury, OSHA Rules
A Northeastern commuter railroad has been ordered to pay nearly $142,000 in damages and promote a mechanic who, federal regulators concluded, was denied a higher-level position because he suffered a knee injury on his lunch break.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/08/railroad-punished-worker-for-reporting-injury-osha-rules/

Teen Agricultural Workers Killed, Maimed
A spate of farm accidents over the past three weeks has left two teens dead and three more in critical condition. Agriculture is one of the most dangerous sectors for workers in the U.S., and it is especially hazardous for youths. Young people employed in agricultural work suffer fatalities at rates six times higher than their counterparts in other industries.
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/pressroomredirect.cfm?ID=3399

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When does sex count as a work-related injury?

Will workplace safety become a casualty of the debt deal?
The “super committee” that will identify future spending cuts will be comprised of six Democrats and six Republicans from both chambers of Congress. It’s unclear who is going to be on the committee, but Justin Feldman, health and safety advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division, is sure who shouldn’t get the nod: Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla), who was part of the bipartisan “Gang of Six” that tried to forge a compromise on the budget ceiling last month. Coburn has signled out cutting the Occupational Health and Safety Agency’s budget as a key priorities of his.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11800/public_safety_advocate_fears_osha_cuts_as_part_of_debt_deal/

Paid sick leave in Seattle: study shows the need
City officials are hearing from at least one opponent of paid sick leave who has seized on the slim nature of the data about sick workers transmitting illness on the job. Opponents probably should focus on this issue, since it is the weakest of the public health arguments in favor of the Seattle City Council measure that would mandate paid sick leave for workers, especially those in bars and restaurants.
http://crosscut.com/2011/08/03/seattle-city-hall/21163/Paid-sick-leave-in-Seattle:-study-shows-the-need-/

With rising workers’ compensation frequency, it’s time to strengthen programs ahead of hardening market
A trend is emerging that may put increased pressure on workers’ compensation rates. Over the past two decades, the workers’ comp frequency trend has, with a few minor exceptions, been negative, which has helped to offset positive severity trends. But during the recent recession, the frequency of workers’ comp claims began to rise. This trend was observed across all industry groups, with classes in the construction industry being particularly hard hit.
http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2011/08/04/with-rising-workers-compensation-frequency-its-tim?t=workers-compensation

Army did not properly test more than 5 million bullet-proof plates
Six defense contractors produced more than 5 million bullet-proof body armor inserts whose quality the Army cannot guarantee, at a cost of upwards of $2.5 billion. An audit by the Department of Defense inspector general found the inserts—produced by ArmorWorks, Simula, Cercom, Composix, Armacel Armor and Ceradyne from 2004-2006—were not tested consistently for factors such as velocity, humidity, temperature or altitude. Additionally, the results of several tests were not properly documented.
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/08/03/5504/army-did-not-properly-test-more-5-million-bullet-proof-plates

Huffington’s bogus defense of unpaid bloggers
While many view the labor practices of the Huffington Post as affecting only a small handful of writers, Arianna Huffington’s willingness to classify people working for her site as “non-employees” could impact the rights of all workers. As unpaid internships become the norm among a new generation of workers, more and more employers are finding interesting ways to classify those working for them as “non-employees” who don’t need to be paid. This classification occurs despite the fact that employers often force unpaid workers to obey the same rules as paid workers.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11771/huffingtons_bogus_defense_of_unpaid_bloggers/

Ask Target, Macy’s and Hanes to stop profiting from rape of factory workers
Sexual assault and rape are a far too common part of life for the women working at Classic Factory in Jordan, making clothes for Target, Hanes, Macy’s, and other companies. For years, the female workers have been filing rape complaints against three of the managers, but the managers have not been fired. Now, the situation is getting more dire — women who have dared to speak out against the rapes are being threatened, tortured, and “disappeared.” Target, Hanes, and Macy’s have the power to stop these rapes by insisting the managers accused of repeated assaults be fired.
https://news.change.org/stories/ask-target-macys-and-hanes-to-stop-profiting-from-rape-of-factory-workers

Friendly workplace linked to longer life
Getting along with your colleagues at work may do more than boost your productivity. It may also be a boon to your health. Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that people who felt that they had the support of their colleagues and generally positive social interactions at work were less likely to die over a 20-year period than those who reported a less friendly work environment.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/friendly-workplace-linked-to-longer-life/?src=tp

When does sex count as a work-related injury?
An Australian public servant is suing her employer for compensation after being injured while having sex during a business trip. She works for ComCare, the Australian government’s—wait for it—workplace safety organization.
http://www.inc.com/news/articles/201108/when-does-sex-count-as-a-work-related-injury.html

Clifton company is cited for 20 workplace safety violations
A Clifton company faces $135,000 in fines after being been cited for 20 workplace safety and health violations, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday. The citations against the Safas Corp., which keeps its headquarters on Ackerman Avenue, include $84,000 in fines for failing to provide workers with forklift training and a hearing conservation program, OSHA said in a release.
http://www.northjersey.com/topstories/clifton/Clifton_company_is_cited_for_20_workplace_safety_violations.html

Pa. bottler fined $111K over workplace violations
Federal regulators say they have cited an eastern Pennsylvania bottling company after finding two dozen workplace safety and health violations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday it’s levying nearly $111,000 in fines against A-Treat Bottling Co.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/37854–pa-bottler-fined-111k-over-workplace-violations

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Green jobs: Good for the environment, bad for workers?

White House urges end to programs that can make dangerous jobs safer
Loggers, farmworkers and commercial fishermen die on the job at an astonishing pace. In 2009, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fatality rate for agricultural workers was five times that of American industry as a whole. The rate for loggers was almost 19 times as high, for fishermen 58 times as high. Even so, the Obama administration wants to eliminate a research and outreach program aimed at finding new ways to prevent deaths, injuries and illnesses in the three high-risk occupations.
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/08/04/5506/white-house-urges-end-programs-can-make-dangerous-jobs-safer

Regulators delay pilot-fatigue rules
Last-minute lobbying of the White House by charter and cargo airlines has delayed—and could jeopardize—new regulations to combat pilot fatigue, according to industry officials. Issuing strict new rules to replace decades-old limits on pilot work hours and rest periods has been a top priority for the Federal Aviation Administration and its chief, Randy Babbitt. Until a few weeks ago, the FAA was on track to release the revamped rules by an Aug. 1 deadline mandated by Congress.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903341404576484391587046076.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Mexican trucks to haul freight on U.S. roads
The ambitious but controversial North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico from the 1990s is back, this time as the backdrop to a contentious new cross-border deal allowing Mexican freight trucks onto U.S. highways. “We think it’s unsafe, unfair and wrong for America,” says Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “It’s a danger to highway safety. … It will cost thousands of trucking and warehouse jobs.”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2011-08-10-mexican-trucks-us-highways_n.htm

ACLU might sue over law limiting teachers’ Facebook use
The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri is considering suing the state over a new law that prohibits teachers from sending private message to students on social-networking sites such as Facebook. “I do think there are First Amendment issues with the law,” said Tony Rothert, legal director for the ACLU of Eastern Missouri.
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/175473-missouri-law-restricts-teachers-facebook-messages-aclu-considers-lawsuit

Cutting back on housekeepers’ heavy lifting
Some hotel guests may be getting a better night’s sleep these days, but at the expense of the housekeepers who clean their rooms. In what has been called an “amenities arms race,” many hotels now use luxury mattresses that weigh more than 100 pounds each. Multiply those 100 pounds by the 16 to 25 beds the typical housekeeper must make up daily. Add to that the extra pillows to be fluffed, thick duvets and decorative bed skirts to be changed, all without any reduction in the number of rooms each worker is required to clean. It’s not hard to see how this workload can lead to debilitating, often permanent injuries to the back, arm and shoulder and rotator cuff.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-cohen-maids-20110802,0,7847167.story

Worker injuries, deaths mount amid boom in wind, solar energy projects
The rush to go green is taking a toll on the workers who construct wind turbines and install solar panels. As the Los Angeles Times reports, a surge in alternative energy projects requiring lots of workers – many of them inexperienced – is raising concerns that serious injuries will skyrocket.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/08/worker-injuries-deaths-mount-amid-boom-in-wind-solar-energy-projects/

Drugs found ineffective for veterans’ stress
Drugs widely prescribed to treat severe post-traumatic stress symptoms for veterans are no more effective than placebos and come with serious side effects, including weight gain and fatigue, researchers reported on Tuesday. Ten percent to 20 percent of those who see heavy combat develop lasting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and about a fifth of those who get treatment receive a prescription for a so-called antipsychotic medication, according to government numbers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/health/research/03psych.html?ref=health

OSHA rules in favor of workers in school project
Three union electricians who said they were laid off in retaliation for complaining about unsafe working conditions at Martin Luther King High School will receive $150,000 in lost wage and benefits. The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that the payment was part of the department’s enforcement of whistle-blower laws designed to protect employees who speak up about unsafe situations.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/126703533.html

OSHA inspector arraigned for extorting Hustler Club
Bond was set at $5,000 for a Lorain man accused of trying to extort money from Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club in Cleveland. 34-year-old Joseph Schwarz was arraigned Wednesday morning on charges of extortion and possessing criminal tools. From June 3 to July 12 of this year, Prosecutor’s Spokesman Ryan Miday says in an e-mail that Schwarz falsely claimed he had video of customers inside Larry Flint Hustler’s Club at 1101 Center Street performing illegal sexual acts and drug activity.
http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122520&article=8919030

Frederick man attacks employee with medieval axe inside home
A Frederick man allegedly hit an employee with an medieval-style axe, cutting him to the bone — all over some stolen quarters! You’re forever banned now from claiming your boss “went medieval on my ass.”
http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/08/frederick-man-attacks-employee-with-medieval-axe-inside-home-64605.html

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The dangerous lives of the people who give us parking tickets

OSHA unveils plans to boost protection of whistleblowers
Facing sharp criticism of its whistleblower protection program, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced measures to improve training and avoid long delays in completing investigations. The program has been ripped by the Labor Department’s inspector general and by the Government Accountability Office which, in a report released last year, cited training lapses among its glaring weaknesses.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/08/osha-unveils-plans-to-boost-protection-of-whistle-blowers/

MSHA, NIOSH mum about CSE Corp.’s plans to replace its troubled SR-100 breathing devices
The folks at CSE Corp. have been churning out news releases about their new Self-Rescuer Long Duration, or SRLD, which is being promoted as an improvement on and replacement for the company’s long-troubled SR-100 self-contained self-rescuers. Oddly, mine safety experts I’ve talked to over the last few weeks had not heard hardly anything about this development … and gosh, just try to get some information out of MSHA or NIOSH about this.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/08/01/msha-niosh-mum-about-cse-corp-s-plans-to-replace-its-troubled-sr-100-breathing-devices/

Did you know… Textile & cotton workers face dangers of brown lung disease?
Brown lung disease (also called cotton worker’s lung and known medically as byssinosis), is a chronic lung disease closely associated with the textile industry because it is caused by exposure to cotton dust during the handling and processing of cotton. After prolonged exposure to cotton dust, some workers experience chest tightness, coughing and wheezing which is caused by the obstruction of small airways in the lungs.
http://kansascity.injuryboard.com/workplace-injuries/did-you-know-textile-workers-face-dangers-of-brown-lung-disease.aspx?googleid=292646

The dangerous lives of the people who give us parking tickets
In the District, parking tickets come with the ominous line “Assaults on parking enforcement personnel are fully prosecuted.” “There had been assaults on parking officers,” Grant told me. “Not everyone is going to react as ‘Okay, I’ve got a ticket.’” The line, according to Grant, serves as a common-sense reminder to angry drivers that yes, parking personnel are as protected by the law as anyone and that they should cool their tempers. Assaults can and do lead to prosecution.
http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot/2011/07/the-dangerous-lives-of-parking-enforcement-personnel–12084.html

Alcoa Mill Products to pay more than $540,000 to settle discrimination case with US Department of Labor
Alcoa Mill Products Inc. will pay $484,656.19 in back wages to 37 Hispanics and African-Americans as well as $35,516.88 to two women who all were rejected for job positions at the company’s plant in Lancaster, Pa. The settlement resolves a finding by the U.S. Department of Labor that the company discriminated against Hispanic, African-American and female applicants for material handler positions. Alcoa Mill Products is part of Alcoa Inc., the world’s leading producer of aluminum.
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/OFCCP20111168.htm

OSHA seeks $162,000 in fines in chemical exposure death
A Georgia contractor has been smacked with $162,000 in proposed federal fines stemming from the death of a 51-year-old worker who, authorities said, succumbed from overexposure to a toxic paint remover. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Stockbridge, Ga.,-based Creative Multicare Inc. on two willful violations, the agency’s most severe charges, along with six other infractions.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/08/osha-seeks-162000-in-fines-in-chemical-exposure-death/

OSHA cites Fairfield manufacturer for exposing workers to chemicals
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Fairfield manufacturer for exposing workers in April to methylene chloride, a natural carcinogen, and for other safety hazards. “Exposure to methylene chloride is very dangerous and poses serious health risks, including an increased risk of cancer and adverse effects on the heart, central nervous system, liver and skin,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “It is vital that the company eliminate these hazards to protect its employees.”
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/osha_cites_fairfield_manufactu.html

Reports: Worker falls, dies At K-State stadium
A mason who was working at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on the Kansas State campus fell about 100 feet and died, KTKA-TV in Topeka reported on Monday.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/28732326/detail.html#ixzz1TtwceMiE

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Even temperate San Francisco is responsible for heat illness prevention for workers

Sen. Coburn is dead wrong on worker safety
A deficit reduction report that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) published in late July relies on misrepresented data when it calls for a $72.6 million cut to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) budget. One section of the report, entitled “Back in Black,” urges Congress to eliminate OSHA training grants and shift the agency away from worksite inspections. Coburn, a member of the U.S. Senate’s “Gang of Six,” proposes that OSHA instead focus its resources on unproven voluntary safety programs.
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/pressroomredirect.cfm?ID=3394

Interior to study worker safety at offshore wind farms
The Interior Department said Monday it will conduct a study on worker safety in the burgeoning offshore renewable energy industry. The study will examine the risks associated with repairing and maintaining offshore wind turbines, among other things. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) is partnering with the National Research Council’s Marine Board on the study, which is scheduled to be completed by July 31 of 2012.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/174771-interior-to-study-worker-safety-at-offshore-wind-farms

Federal safety rules still not mandatory in wake of fatal Daytona plant explosion
Casey Jones believes her life went careening down the wrong path on Jan. 11, 2006, because there were no safety regulations in place that day that could have kept two city workers from using cutting torches above a 3,000-gallon tank of methanol and setting off a fiery blast. Her husband, 40-year-old Clyde Jones, was operating a crane just a few feet away and was caught in the fireball. More than 5 1/2 years later, the city has bolstered its employee-safety system. But Florida still doesn’t have statewide mandatory U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules for its employees who work for school districts, local governments and state government agencies. Only Florida’s federal workers and private business employees are guaranteed those OSHA protections.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2011/07/31/federal-safety-rules-still-not-mandatory-in-wake-of-fatal-daytona-plant-explosion.html

Township ready to crack down on oversized garbage containers
Thousands of Canton households every week violate the township’s trash-collection rules by wheeling oversized or overweight garbage containers to the curb — a practice Canton Waste Recycling has virtually ignored since it became the local trash hauler in 1992. Amid rising insurance costs and heightened worker-safety concerns, however, CWR employees have started attaching warning tags to trash containers that exceed the 32-gallon or 50-pound limit — longtime rules that many residents have ignored or, perhaps, didn’t know.
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110731/NEWS03/107310462

Voluntary OSHA program working?
A voluntary federal safety program in place at more than 2,400 U.S. worksites continues to receive criticism, but supporters say the Voluntary Protection Program remains a worthwhile designation for businesses to obtain.
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20110731/NEWS08/307319976

OSHA involved in union firing
The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration is taking a closer look into why union workers from Lafayette were fired for not working in intense heat in late July.
http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/osha-involved-in-union-firing

Cal-OSHA heat illness prevention standards – will they affect San Francisco?
Little did many of us know, the State of California recently passed regulations designed to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses. While the new Cal-OSHA regulation, Title 8, CCR, Section 3395, was implemented in 2006 under then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, it seems that there are many California employers who are covered under the standards, but are not even aware they exist. Especially in cities like San Francisco, where the temperature rarely hits, or exceeds 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
http://www.examiner.com/labor-unions-in-san-francisco/cal-osha-heat-illness-prevention-standards-will-they-affect-san-francisco

Surveys find widespread violence against nurses and other hospital caregivers
Although nearly invisible to the public except in extreme cases, violence against nurses and other hospital caregivers is commonplace in California and around the nation, according to surveys, state records and interviews with hospital employees and industry experts.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hospital-violence-20110731,0,158771.story

Putnam plant faces $121K in OSHA fines
Federal workplace safety regulators slapped $121,650 in proposed fines against a Putnam, Conn., filter manufacturing plant, authorities say. Pallflex is accused of compromising worker safety for, among other things, failing to provide proper safety gear, allowing electrical-shock hazards to exist, and for fall hazards.
http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news19745.html

Chicago butcher demands his pay—with a little help from friends
Miguel Brito, a Mexican immigrant, has worked at a Chicago butcher shop called Dona Mari’s 2 for 16 years. Brito says he has been cheated out of wages consistently for most of his employment there. Wage theft is a common experience for immigrant workers, as documented in a book by Chicagoan Kim Bobo, and especially since the economic crisis many have felt powerless to complain or look for other work.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11768/chicago_butcher_demands_his_pay_today/

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