Will Michigan workplaces become more dangerous? Hundreds of safety rules may be eliminated

Will Michigan workplaces become more dangerous? Hundreds of safety rules may be eliminated
Gov. Rick Snyder has asked his administration to work on changing or eliminating hundreds of Michigan workplace safety rules in an effort to streamline business regulations. Michigan’s Office of Regulatory Reinvention released a report that suggests changing 334 Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) rules that exceed federal regulations. It also recommends considering the elimination of 611 MIOSHA requirements.
http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/03/post_4.html

Feds let BP off probation despite pending safety violations
BP’s refining subsidiary was released today from criminal probation related to a 2005 explosion in Texas City that killed 15 workers. The company has addressed the most serious safety deficiencies exposed by the accident and satisfied the terms of a felony plea agreement to settle charges that it failed to protect workers from known risks, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman said.
http://www.propublica.org/article/feds-let-BP-off-probation-despite-pending-safety-violations

Offshore oil drilling: avoid reckless repeat
The United States imposed a moratorium on gulf production after the BP well exploded, a special commission investigated and the Obama administration took significant steps to improve regulations. But the effectiveness of those rules has yet to be tested by harsh reality, and history provides few reasons for Americans to be confident about the safety of drilling in extremely deep water.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20120313/EDIT01/120319764

Two years after Massey disaster, mine safety agency owns up to problems (again)
Last week, the Mine Safety and Health Administration released its internal review into the federal agency’s role in the problems causing the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners in the Upper Big Branch Mine owned by Massey Energy Company in West Virginia. While the report claims that MSHA’s poor regulatory conduct did not cause the explosion, it did find that “MSHA and District 4 did not follow established agency policies and procedures.”
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12882/same_old_problems_cited_in_review_of_mine_safety_agency_performance/

Palmetto school illegally fired whistleblower, government says
The U.S. Department of Labor is suing a local charter school, claiming that it fired a worker who reported electrical safety problems to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto broke the law by firing the whistleblower after he reported that improperly placed extension cords and a lack of sprinkler system in two theaters represented a safety hazard.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120312/ARTICLE/120319866/-1/sports?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar

US Department of Labor’s OSHA cites Stella-Jones Corp. for 16 violations following fatality at Alabama railroad tie manufacturing plant
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Stella-Jones Corp., a manufacturer of railroad ties, with 16 safety violations, including one willful, following the crushing death of a worker who was caught in a machine at the company’s facility in Warrior.
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=21951

Will workplace wellness programs work?
In an effort to bring down health-care costs, employers are increasingly turning to workplace wellness programs that reward employees who engage in healthy behaviors — or, alternatively, penalize those who don’t.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/will-workplace-wellness-programs-work/2012/03/13/gIQABWUU9R_blog.html

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Dying for work. Literally. #workplacesafety #OSHA

Florida passes bill to test state workers for drugs
Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure allowing state agency heads to randomly test employees for illegal drugs, sending the bill to Gov. Rick Scott, who is expected to sign it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/12/us-florida-drugs-idUSBRE82B02U20120312

Gov. Walker signs worker training bill for unemployed
Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that creates a pilot program to give people on unemployment a chance to take part-time training jobs with employers that could lead to full-time work. Participants in the one-year program will get an additional $75 a week in unemployment benefits.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120312/GPG0101/120312093

Workers who dealt with radiation at WWII plant in Fort Wayne sought for compensation program
The work lasted only eight years, but the effects scarred a generation for decades. In 1944, the Joslyn Manufacturing and Supply Co. in Fort Wayne began work on a contract with the Manhattan Engineering District to turn short, stubby chunks of uranium into long rods. Compensation is available to survivors of workers who have died from radiation-induced illnesses. But finding those workers isn’t easy.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/c2a094adc24a4cab90490fae35cf5e19/IN–Exchange-Radiation-Workers/

DADT repeal leads to few changes for soldiers, says new study
After the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in September 2011, advocates on both sides of the debate predicted far-reaching changes in the lives of service members. But according to a new poll conducted by the Military Times, the landmark policy change has resulted in far less upheaval than expected.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/dadt-repeal-few-changes_n_1339527.html

Dying for work
Across America, people are dying for work. It’s not because they’re unemployed. It’s because they work for corporations that don’t care if they die. Every day, 12 workers die on the job in America — often because a corporation has defied regulations or ignored standard safety procedures. Many more die prematurely from work exposure to toxic materials.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-w-gerard/dying-for-work_b_1338052.html

OSHA product alert leads to better consumer protection
If you’ve followed some of the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) actions with regard to the popular hair-straightening product “Brazilian Blowout” and other hair smoothers, you know there is a price beyond the $300.00 you fork over at the salon. Since then, we’ve seen a number of changes that will serve to protect both workers and consumers.
http://social.dol.gov/blog/osha-product-alert-leads-to-better-consumer-protection/

Children face dangers on farms, but not from farmwork
There’s plenty of argument on what should be done to ensure the safety of children who live or work on farms. About 84 children die each year in accidents on farms, according to a new study, and 26,570 are injured. Because those injuries are usually severe, they come with high price tag — $1.4 billion a year, the study found.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/12/148320219/children-face-dangers-on-farms-but-not-from-farmwork

iPad workers: Plant inspected hours before blast
Last week, NPR met with 25 workers injured in the Shanghai blast and they criticized safety at the plant and said Apple had inspected it just hours before the explosion. He Wenwen says he was calibrating his machine, which polished aluminum backings for the iPad 2, when the explosion hit.
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/12/148421415/apple-workers-plant-inspected-hours-before-blast

Air controller involved in 2nd potential collision
An air traffic controller who nearly caused a midair collision last year has again been relieved of duty after putting two planes on converging courses. The case raises questions about whether employee rights are trumping safety at the Federal Aviation Administration.
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Air-controller-involved-in-2nd-potential-collision-3395079.php

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Lots of workplace safety news for nurses, health care workers today

Study shows nurses are exposed to risks from blood exposure during insertion and removal of peripheral IV catheter
About one in two nurses experience blood exposure, other than from a needlestick, on their skin or in their eyes, nose or mouth at least once a month when inserting a peripheral intravenous (IV) catheter, according to a new study by the International Healthcare Worker Safety Center at the University of Virginia. Exposure to blood carries the risk of infection from pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and MRSA.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/07/4318118/study-shows-nurses-are-exposed.html

A new plan to protect healthcare workers from bloodborne diseases
To prevent accidental needlestick injuries that can spread HIV, hepatitis and other bloodborne diseases, a group at the University of Virginia School of Medicine is partnering with the American Nurses Association (ANA) to target what they call “one of the most serious occupational risks healthcare workers face.” UVA’s International Healthcare Worker Safety Center, in collaboration with ANA, has drawn up a “roadmap” to a safer future for America’s healthcare workers. The eight-page call to action, which outlines steps to advance the prevention of accidental needlesticks and other “sharps” injuries, has won the backing of 18 healthcare groups across the country.
http://www.healthcanal.com/public-health-safety/27383-new-plan-protect-healthcare-workers-from-bloodborne-diseases.html

Risking their health while caring for others: Reproductive health hazards of germ-killers
Nurses face many hazards on the job, and one that clearly demands more detailed analysis than it’s received to date is the effect of occupational chemical exposures on nurses’ reproductive health. A recent study by researchers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Harvard School of Public Health, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that female nurses exposed to sterilizing agents and chemotherapy drugs at work are at least twice as likely to have miscarriages than those who are not.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2012/03/risking_their_health_while_car.php#more

US Labor Department extends comment period on proposed rule to provide minimum wage and overtime protections for in-home care workers
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has announced a nine-day extension of the comment period for its proposed rule to provide minimum wage and overtime protections for nearly 2 million workers who provide in-home care services. The department now will extend the comment period through March 21.
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20120456.htm

Report faults federal agency in deadly W.Va. mine accident
The top House Democrat with jurisdiction over worker safety renewed his call for Congress to pass mine safety legislation after a new report found understaffed and inexperienced federal officials missed warning signs ahead of the deadliest mining accident in 40 years.
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/worker-safety/214517-report-faulting-federal-agency-in-deadly-mine-accident-spurs-calls-for-action-on-capitol-hill

UBB mine superintendent to plead guilty
Federal prosecutors on Thursday asked a judge to schedule a hearing so former Upper Big Branch Mine superintendent Gary May can plead guilty, further confirming that May is cooperating with the ongoing criminal investigation of the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years.
http://wvgazette.com/News/201203080131

MSHA seeks info for miners’ rights survey
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is seeking public comment on data collection relating to miners’ rights in the workplace. The agency is conducting a pilot study to determine how to assess miners’ understanding of their rights under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. MSHA also wants to determine the degree to which miners believe they are free to exercise those rights at work.
http://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/safety-administration/safety-general/MSHA-Seeks-Info-for-Miners-Rights-Survey/

Growth of composting strains oversight of industry
California’s next big step in recycling – composting its meat scraps, broken egg shells, coffee grounds and other detritus of eating – is straining the state’s ability to effectively manage the ever-growing and sometimes dangerous industry. In October, 16-year-old Armando Ramirez and his brother, 22-year-old Heladio Ramirez, died of poisoning after Armando had been cleaning out a stormwater drain at the Community Recycling & Resource Recovery composting facility near Bakersfield.
http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/growth-composting-strains-oversight-industry-15166

Car washes have to clean up their act and stop treating workers like dirt
Workers chronically stiffed of the minimum wage they are supposed to be guaranteed. Stolen tips. Overtime not counted or not properly paid. Regular exposure, without proper safeguards, to chemicals that cn harm health long term. Injuries sustained by working with hazardous machinery — and often no recompense. In one industry, too often ignored, can be found the full range of the worst practices to which low-income and immigrant workers are subjected.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/car-washes-clean-act-stop-treating-workers-dirt-article-1.1035733

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Starbucks served venti-sized discrimination lawsuit

Wyoming House sends workplace safety bill to governor
A proposal aimed at increasing workplace safety in Wyoming through voluntary inspections is on its way to Gov. Matt Mead. The Senate gave final approval to the bill this week. The House previously approved the bill, which would pay for five consultants to conduct voluntary inspections.
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/wyoming-house-sends-workplace-safety-bill-to-governor/article_3de79652-4d5b-583c-9acf-6a98e5753d64.html

W.Va. passes mine safety bill — such as it is …
Wide-ranging mine safety reforms? Comprehensive mine safety bill? Statehouse reporters are dutifully reporting this stuff, having forgotten the testimony from mine safety experts just a few weeks ago who offered much more significant recommendations for how West Virginia lawmakers could respond to Upper Big Branch and improve working conditions for our state’s coal miners.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2012/03/08/w-va-passes-mine-safety-bill-such-as-it-is/

What was MSHA doing at Upper Big Branch?
Missed inspections and unused enforcement tools got most of the attention earlier this week when the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration released its long-awaited “internal review” report on the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster. But as I read and re-read MSHA’s internal review, two absolutely remarkable things stand out that the anyone who cares about the safety and health of our nation’s coal miners should know about.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2012/03/08/what-was-msha-doing-at-upper-big-branch/

Are Western activists really reducing child labor?
Anti-sweatshop campaigns in the West to improve the lives of workers toiling in dismal conditions in the third world often do more harm than good — turning low-wage workers into no-wage workers by inducing multinational companies to pick up shop and move somewhere else. Child labor offers perhaps the best example that big improvements in the workplace are always driven from pressure from within.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/are-western-activists-really-reducing-child-labor/

Starbucks served venti-sized discrimination lawsuit
Twenty-five year old Eli Pierre has only one full arm, but he says he’s never been told there was something he couldn’t do. That is, until last month, when a San Diego, California Starbucks interviewed and then refused to hire him. Mr. Pierre is now suing the Seattle-based company in California state court alleging discrimination and wrongful failure to hire “despite his capable work history,” in violation of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2012/03/08/starbucks-served-venti-sized-discrimination-lawsuit/

Mario Batali settles tip lawsuit
Mario Batali’s long-running legal dispute with workers at his New York restaurants, over improperly withheld tips, is almost over. Law360 reported Tuesday, and publicly available court documents confirm, that Batali and his business partners will settle the class action suit, which began in July 2010, for $5.25 million.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/mario-batali-lawsuit_n_1325304.html

Fewer unpaid internships to be offered
As summer intern season draws near, many employers are doing away with unpaid internships or converting them to paid programs amid lawsuits that claim interns should have been compensated for their work, labor lawyers say. Unpaid internships are legal only if they meet stringent Labor criteria. For example, programs must provide training and benefit interns, not employers.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/story/2012-03-07/summer-internships-paid-unpaid/53404886/1

Narrowing the new class divide
We should get rid of unpaid internships … Internships pave the way for children to move seamlessly from their privileged upbringings to privileged careers without ever holding a job that is boring or physically demanding. So let the labor unions win this one: If you are not a religious organization and have more than 10 employees, the minimum wage law should apply to anyone who shows up for work every day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/opinion/reforms-for-the-new-upper-class.html

US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Baytown, Texas-based JSW Steel for safety and health hazards; proposed penalties total more than $469k
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited JSW Steel (USA) Inc. with 11 repeat, 23 serious and two other-than-serious violations for exposing employees to safety and health hazards at the company’s facility on East McKinney Road in Baytown.
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=21939

Don’t just manage musculoskeletal disorders, drive performance through ergonomics
A recent benchmarking study revealed that most companies think they are further along in their ergonomics process than they actually are. Don’t fall into that trap.
http://ehstoday.com/health/drive-performance-through-ergonomics-0302/

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Student labor scandal illuminates the gray market for guestworkers #Hersey #workplacesafety #labor

Have you signed away your right to sue your boss?
A group of servers at Hooters are claiming they weren’t given proper breaks and were swindled out of their tips, among other labor law violations. But when they tried to sue as part of a class action their employer pulled the rug out from under them. The servers, it turns out, had signed an employment contract and in the fine print — which so few employees read — it said they were obligated to go to arbitration, a process to resolve disputes outside of court.
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/07/10600853-have-you-signed-away-your-right-to-sue-your-boss

Arbitration agreement key to Morton’s sexual harassment case
Reggie Williams says he saw terrible things as a chef at one of South Florida’s most well-known high-end restaurants — and is learning that an arbitration agreement he says he didn’t sign might prevent him from talking much more about it.
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Arbitration-Agreement-Key-to-Mortons-Sexual-Harassment-Case-141690523.html

Bill slashing tipped minimum wage dies in Senate
A bill that would have cut the hourly pay of restaurant servers and other tipped employees by more than half has died in the Florida Senate — a development that drew cheers from hourly workers.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-tipped-minimum-wage-20120306,0,1077418.story

Student labor scandal illuminates the gray market for guestworkers
The students came for a summer learning experience with a job at a classic American company. Instead, they got a crash course in the realities of the global economy. Following months of campaigning, young foreign students who have waged a bitter labor battle against a U.S. candy giant, the Department of Labor has cited two subcontractors that helped import the students into the Hershey plant in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, where they were reportedly subjected to coercive, exploitative conditions. The “gray market” for temporary foreign labor covers many sectors and brims with evidence of abuses that are often even worse than what the Hershey students experienced.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12827/student_labor_scandal_illuminates_the_gray_market_for_guestworkers/

Fair pay for home healthcare workers
Back in December, the Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division published a proposed rule that would extend minimum-wage and overtime pay protections to the home care workers who assist elderly and disabled patients with their daily needs. In 36 states, average hourly wages for Personal Care Aides are below 200% of the federal poverty level wage for full-time workers in one-person households.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2012/03/fair_pay_for_home_healthcare_w.php

Young adults see their pay decline
Young people entering the job market are taking the brunt of the downward pressure on wages caused by high unemployment, according to a new analysis of pay trends. In data compiled for a coming report, the Economic Policy Institute, a center-left think tank in Washington, found that the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage for male college graduates aged 23 to 29 dropped 11% over the past decade to $21.68 in 2011. For female college graduates of the same age, the average wage is down 7.6% to $18.80.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204276304577265510046126438.html

Apple, Foxconn scandal highlights exploitation of Chinese workers by foreign firms
Some foreign companies in China exploit their workers by forcing them to do overtime or underpaying them, the labor minister said on Wednesday, as controversy swirls over working conditions at a plant that makes Apple Inc’s iPhones and iPads. Labor Minister Yin Weimin said foreign companies generally followed the law when it came to their workers, but added that problems did exist.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/apple-foxconn-scandal_n_1325930.html

PTSD veterans prone to drug addiction get risky painkillers
Morphine and similar powerful painkillers are sometimes prescribed to recent war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress along with physical pain, and the consequences can be tragic, a government study suggests. These vets are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, but they’re two times more likely to get prescriptions for addictive painkillers than vets with only physical pain, according to the study, billed as the first national examination of the problem.
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2012-03-06/PTSD-veterans-prone-to-drug-addiction-get-risky-painkillers/53388510/1

US Department of Labor’s OSHA cites Falls Stamping and Welding in Cleveland for workplace violations; proposed penalties exceed $124k
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Falls Stamping and Welding Co. with a total of 19 — including one willful and three repeat — safety and health violations. OSHA began an inspection after receiving a complaint alleging a failure to lock out and tag out machinery energy sources at the company’s Cleveland metal stamping facility, which exposed workers to amputation hazards. Due to the willful and repeat violations and the nature of the hazards, OSHA has placed Falls Stamping and Welding Co. in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law.
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=21933

Victim of sex trafficker Glenn Marcus tells tormenter she carries ‘scars of torture’
A former sex slave turned the tables on her tormentor in a Brooklyn court Monday, delivering a verbal lashing before a judge sentenced him to eight years in prison. “I walk around and carry the physical scars of the torture you put me through. The cigarette burns, the knife carvings, the piercings,” the woman, referred to in court simply as Jodi, told Glenn Marcus.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/victim-sex-trafficker-glenn-marcus-tells-tormenter-carries-cars-torture-article-1.1033743

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Daylight at last for study of diesel lung cancer risks in miners #workplacesafety

Transportation workers report near-misses, sleepiness in study
Pilots and train operators are chronically sleepy and make more fatigue-related errors than the general public, a U.S. study found. About one in four of the pilots and rail workers reported that sleepiness affects their job performance at least once a week, compared with one in six non-transportation workers, according to the survey by the National Sleep Foundation.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-05/transportation-workers-report-near-misses-sleepiness-in-study.html

Trucker fatigue rule faces detour through courts
Nobody is happy with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new rule governing how long truckers can drive and when they must rest. A safety group has gone to court against the agency, calling the rule too lax, while the trucking industry has filed a suit calling it too strict. And both sides point to the same data to back their claims.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/73635.html

California cellphone ban reduced traffic related deaths, injuries, Berkeley study finds
California’s nearly four-year-old ban on drivers using handheld cellphones is saving lives, according to a University of California, Berkeley, study released Monday. The study found that overall traffic deaths dropped 22 percent, while deaths blamed on drivers using hand-held cellphones were down 47 percent. Deaths among drivers who use hands-free phones dropped at a similar rate.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/california-cellphone-ban_n_1322726.html

Florida wage-theft laws could be blocked by GOP bill
A bill moving through the Florida legislature would kill any local laws designed to help workers recover wages owed by their employers, prompting demonstrations against businesses in the state that support the legislation. The measure would prohibit municipal governments from instituting local wage-theft ordinances, effectively spiking a landmark 2010 law in Miami-Dade County that has helped workers recoup roughly $400k in backpay from their employers — the first law of its kind in the country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/florida-wage-theft-law_n_1324544.html

Navy to place breath-test machines on all its ships
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is ordering the installation of breath-test machines on all ships and submarines, as well as on Marine Corps bases. The problem generally is not that sailors are showing up blitzed to work, Mabus said in an interview. It’s that alcohol is surfacing as a factor in a host of social and professional ills that are increasingly of concern to the Navy brass: sexual assault, domestic problems, suicide, even poor physical fitness.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/navy-to-place-breathalyzers-on-all-its-ships/2012/03/06/gIQAIC4ZuR_blog.html

Internal review outlines missed inspections, weak enforcement at UBB
Federal regulators failed to inspect key parts of the Upper Big Branch Mine, did not properly step up enforcement actions, and missed major coal-dust violations prior to the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners, according to a new government report being released this morning. U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration enforcement efforts at the Raleigh County operation were severely compromised because agency officials — from rank-and-file inspectors to top managers — did not follow established MSHA policies and procedures, according to a long-awaited “internal review” report on the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster.
http://wvgazette.com/News/201203060076

Daylight at last for study of diesel lung cancer risks
After 20 years of research and almost as many years fighting industry groups in court for control of their data, government scientists can finally publish two papers showing that underground miners exposed to diesel fumes have a threefold increased risk for contracting lung cancer. The study could have a significant impact on an upcoming review of federal and international safety regulations for exposure to diesel fumes.
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/03/daylight-at-last-for-study-of.html

OSHA establishes local emphasis program to protect workers on Wisconsin dairy farms from common hazards
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established a local emphasis program to protect workers from hazards found on Wisconsin dairy farms, such as those related to manure storage, lack of vehicle roll-over protection, machine guarding, confined spaces and animal handling.
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=21930

Maker of a hair-straightening product settles lawsuit
The manufacturer of the popular hair-straightening product Brazilian Blowout, the subject of government inquiries and health complaints, said on Monday that it had agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit. Brazilian Blowout can no longer market its product as “formaldehyde free,” and the company must provide more detailed instructions on how to use it safely.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/business/brazilian-blowout-agrees-to-a-4-5-million-settlement.html

Chilling dissent on Wall Street
Whistleblowers have been under intense scrutiny in Washington lately, at least when it comes to the national security state. In recent years, the Obama administration has set a record by accusing no fewer than six government employees, who allegedly leaked classified information to reporters, of violating the Espionage Act, a draconian law dating back to 1917. Yet when it comes to workers who have risked their careers to expose misconduct in the corporate and financial arena, a different pattern has long prevailed.
http://www.thenation.com/article/166621/chilling-dissent-wall-street

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Obama’s OSHA: Improved but still weak

Deepwater oil drilling picks up again as BP disaster fades
Nearly two years after an explosion on an oil platform killed 11 workers and sent millions of gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, deepwater drilling has regained momentum in the gulf and is spreading around the world. After a yearlong drilling moratorium, BP and other oil companies are intensifying their exploration and production in the gulf, which will soon surpass the levels attained before the accident.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/business/deepwater-oil-drilling-accelerates-as-bp-disaster-fades.html

Obama’s OSHA: Improved but still weak
After three years of the Obama administration, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) finds its ability to police the business community is extremely limited, even with a Democrat in the White House and legitimate health and safety experts leading the agency. Almost every new regulation the agency issues, no matter how minor, is rebuffed amid a firestorm of ferocious rhetoric from influential (and highly capitalized) industry lobbying groups, and their Republican allies.
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/02/obamas_osha_improved_but_still_weak/singleton/

Why porn stars won’t be using condoms, despite city law’s debut today
Condoms are coming to porn shoots in Los Angeles today. Well, that’s the theory, anyway. A Los Angeles city ordinance that requires condom use at on-location adult video shoots within the city is the law starting today. But like a lot of things coming from City Hall … it’s so-far a law with no teeth.
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/03/porn_condoms_angeles_monday.php

FAA fines regional airline involved in 2009 crash
Federal officials are proposing a $153k fine for a regional airline involved in fatal crash that raised questions about pilot fatigue. The fine is unrelated to the Colgan Air Inc. crash but is for other flights the airline scheduled without giving crew members enough rest time.
http://online.wsj.com/article/APb7192bb6efa24444804dd187843bd7ed.html

Westinghouse faces fines for alleged worker safety violations
A Westinghouse plant in Newington New Hampshire is facing $82k in fines for workplace safety violations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Westinghouse Electric for allegedly exposing workers to hexavalent chromium at its stainless steel component manufacturing facility in Newington.
http://www.nhpr.org/post/westinghouse-faces-fines-alleged-worker-safety-violations

Hobart hit with large proposed OSHA fine
Hobart Brothers Co., the welding wire and airplane equipment manufacturer in Troy, could be fined $174k by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the workplace safety agency announced Monday. The agency said it cited Hobart with 55 safety and health violations including inadequate lockout/tagout programs, fall protection and noise sampling, among others.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/hobart-hit-with-large-proposed-osha-fine-1338629.html

Two state mental hospitals fined for allegedly failing to protect staff
California workplace safety officials have issued nearly $100,000 in fines against San Bernardino’s Patton State Hospital and the Central Coast’s Atascadero State Hospital, alleging in part that the state psychiatric facilities have failed to protect staff from patient assaults and have deficient employee alarm systems.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/03/safety-officials-fine-two-state-mental-hospitals-for-allegedly-failing-to-protect-staff.html

State investigators, workers cite labor abuses in warehouse empire
As a warehouse worker in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the nation’s biggest distribution hub for consumer goods, Jorge Soto handles shipments for retail giant Walmart every day. But Soto, who works for a subcontractor, claims that, along with routine jobs such as unloading trucks, he also has been ordered to perform an illegal task: falsifying employees’ time sheets to cheat them out of getting the minimum wage. A suit filed in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of Soto and dozens of other warehouse workers charges three companies that handle Walmart goods with fraudulent pay practices.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2012/03/lawsuit-investigations-cite-abuse-of-workers-in-warehouse-empire/

Who’s really to blame for Apple’s Chinese labor problems?
The U.S. tech company would like consumers to fault Foxconn, but abuses are particular to Apple products.
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/whos-really-to-blame-for-apples-chinese-labor-problems/253892/

For deliverymen, speed, tips and fear on wheels
Deliverymen and women have few defenders or advocates. And the elements of the job are a constant: nasty weather, dangerous encounters with cars and long hours for wages and tips that can fall well below the minimum wage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/nyregion/for-food-delivery-workers-speed-tips-and-fear-on-wheels.html

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In West Virginia, safety violations that kill miners carry smaller penalties than violating a school’s trademark #thisisjustice

In West Virginia, safety violations that kill miners carry smaller penalties than violating a school’s trademark
Nearly two years after Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, the deadliest mine accident in nearly 40 years, the West Virginia House of Delegates has just passed a mine safety reform bill that should, in theory, strengthen some of the lax laws that made the tragedy possible. Through the legislative process, the bill, already mild to begin with, has been further weakened to appease coal industry lobbyists and legislators who fear them.
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2012/02/29/in-west-virginia-safety-violations-that-kill-miners-carry-smaller-penalties-than-violating-a-school%E2%80%99s-trademark/

Worker safety rule languishes as campaign money flows
A federal rule meant to protect the lungs of workers has been caught in bureaucratic purgatory for more than a year now, frustrating public health advocates who believe the rulemaking process has been overly influenced by industry lobbies. The so-called “silica” rule under consideration by the Labor Department would limit the amount of breathable silica dust to which workers in the construction and mining industries are exposed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/silica-rule-campaign-money_n_1314324.html

Sick-time rules re-emerge
A debate over paid sick leave is intensifying around the country, amid concerns that economic pressures are prompting workers to place their financial security above their health. Many people will go to work while ill—and even send their children to school sick—because they can’t afford to stay home, supporters of paid sick time say.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203986604577253550802792104.html

Federal agency investigating sand-blasting hazards
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says coal and copper slag contain traces of highly toxic beryllium, arsenic and other contaminants. Federal regulators are investigating whether manufacturers of the blasting grit have provided adequate notice that users could be inhaling potentially harmful substances.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/01/2669122/federal-agency-investigating-sand.html

Workers at Hershey’s plant feel vindicated by OSHA’s $283k penalty to Exel
For the most part, the OSHA citations issued this week to Exel do not address the underlying causes of the hazards that led to the workers’ injuries. Exel was cited for failing to record those injuries, but nothing in the citations compel the company to address the root of the problem. That’s because OSHA doesn’t have any standards on the books requiring employers to reduce or eliminate injury-causing repetitive motions, awkward postures, excessive line speed or other risk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2012/03/workers_at_hersheys_plant_feel.php

Atascadero State Hospital fined for safety violations
State safety investigators Thursday issued three citations against Atascadero State Hospital for unsafe working conditions for staff treating the facility’s mentally ill and violent offenders.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/03/01/1971416/atascadero-state-hospital-osha.html

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Gay music teacher fired from St. Louis Catholic School after revealing plans to marry partner

Is Stover sentence setback for UBB criminal probe?
When U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin stepped before the microphones outside the federal courthouse earlier this afternoon, the first question for him seemed pretty clear to me: Was U.S. District Judge Irene Berger’s decision to reject Goodwin’s recommendation and not stick former Upper Big Branch Mine security director Hughie Elbert Stover behind bars for 25 years a setback in the criminal probe of the the nation’s worst coal-mining disaster in a generation? The U.S. Attorney was pretty clear in his answer: This is absolutely not a setback.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2012/02/29/is-stover-sentence-setback-for-ubb-criminal-probe/

Study seeks those affected by oil spill
Two years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill 10,000 cleanup workers and volunteers enrolled in a study of physical or mental health problems, officials say. The Gulf Long-term Follow-up study, conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, has a target goal of 55,000 participants.
http://outcomemag.com/health/2012/02/29/study-seeks-those-affected-by-oil-spill/

Stagehands union challenges citations in Ind. State Fair stage collage workplace safety report
A stagehands union is challenging a workplace safety report citing it for four violations in the collapse of an Indiana State Fair stage and rigging that left seven people dead.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/8d0f1e0179ef4e5e9c82e373217a9f5d/IN–Indiana-Stage-Collapse-Appeal/

Brazilian Blowout consumer alert
Do salons know “Brazilian Blowouts” contain a form of formaldehyde? Labor Secretary Hilda Solis discusses on Good Morning America.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/brazilian-blowout-consumer-alert-formaldehyde-danger-15824476

Trucking firm must pay $190K and reinstate fired whistleblower
A Georgia-based trucking firm has been ordered to reinstate a fired south suburban truck driver and pay him more than $190k in back wages and damages because he was fired for lodging complaints against the firm. The Sauk Village driver was terminated by Interline Logistics Group after reporting safety concerns about brakes on his truck and refusing to violate U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for allowable driving and rest hours, Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials said.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/10959170-418/story.html

Training blamed in miner’s death
Miner Joseph L. Tagaban died from a mine blast due to Kensington Mine’s failure to adequately train workers on the examination of workplace hazards and on blast area avoidance, according to conclusions recently released by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
http://juneauempire.com/local/2012-03-01/training-blamed-miners-death

Al Fischer, gay music teacher, fired from St. Louis Catholic School after revealing plans to marry partner
A Missouri-based gay music teacher at an area Catholic school was recently dismissed from his job after authorities learned of his plans to wed his male partner of 20 years in New York.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/al-fischer-gay-music-teacher-fired_n_1311324.html

5 mechanics fired after report on NYC elevator accident that crushed advertising exec to death
Five elevator mechanics who were on duty when an advertising executive was crushed to death were fired Wednesday, two days after city investigators said a key safety system was disabled during the elevator accident, the workers’ employer said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/after-report-on-deadly-nyc-elevator-accident-co-fires-5-mechanics-who-worked-on-that-job/2012/02/29/gIQAhpl0iR_story.html

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