Many workers receive less pay due to sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination #EqualPay Day

Obama election-year pullbacks on safety, environment dismay advocates
Late last month, the Obama administration scrapped proposed rules intended to expand protection for minors in rural communities. The rules, which were announced in the fall, would have barred anyone under 18 from working in a commercial grain handling operation while also strengthening other safety measures for children working on farms. Many safety advocates and environmentalists contend that the abandoned rules fit a pattern: As the November presidential election draws nearer, they say the Obama administration is retreating from its one-time goals, trying to blunt Republican claims that regulation is strangling economic growth.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2012/05/obama-election-year-pullbacks-on-safety-environment-dismay-advocates/

Day-care and home-care workers get ready to enjoy new rights in Conn.
More than 11,000 state-funded day care and home-care workers in Connecticut are now eligible to negotiate for labor contracts now that Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy has signed a controversial bill. The home-care workers are paid through Medicaid, while the home child-care workers are paid through the state’s Care for Kids program, which provides payments for day care to low-income parents so they can work.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13236/day-care_and_home-care_workers_get_ready_to_enjoy_new_rights_in_conn/

Mo. lawmakers OK broadening ‘move over’ law
Gov. Jay Nixon is studying legislation expanding Missouri’s “move over” law to include stopped Transportation Department vehicles with flashing amber or white lights. Missouri’s existing law only requires drivers to move over for emergency vehicles.
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/18576887/mo-lawmakers-ok-broadening-move-over-law

Fatal sinkhole accident brings new state regulations
State regulators say they need more information to pinpoint what caused a sinkhole where a Chevron worker died near Taft, but they promise new regulations aimed at preventing situations like that. It was almost one year ago, when 54-year-old Robert David Taylor fell to his death.
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/152403665.html

Many workers receive less pay due to sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination
Unfortunately, many gay and transgender workers receive unequal pay for equal work in the United States today. What’s worse, these same workers lack the necessary legal protections currently afforded to other categories of individuals that would help combat and correct pay inequities that exist on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/lgbt_wage_gap.html

Carwash workers file class action against L.A.-area owners
Four carwash workers filed suit Monday claiming that a family of carwash owners routinely withheld pay for overtime and denied them breaks during the summer. The lawsuit is one of a series filed on behalf of carwash workers since 2008 in an attempt by unions and immigrant advocates to improve conditions in an industry in which competition is fierce, profit margins are low and workers are often undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-carwash-workers-20120522,0,4468017.story

‘We pretend the vets don’t exist’
About 18 veterans kill themselves each day. Thousands from the current wars have already done so. In fact, the number of U.S. soldiers who have died by their own hand is now estimated to be greater than the number (6,460) who have died in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/20/andrew-swofford-on-the-epidemic-of-military-suicides.html

In race for better cell service, men who climb towers pay with their lives
An investigation by ProPublica and PBS “Frontline” shows that the convenience of mobile phones has come at a hefty price: Between 2003 and 2011, 50 climbers died working on cell sites, more than half of the nearly 100 who were killed on communications towers. Yet cell phone carriers’ connection to tower climbing deaths has remained invisible. They outsource this dangerous work to subcontractors, a practice increasingly common in risky businesses from coal mining to trucking to nuclear waste removal.
http://www.propublica.org/article/cell-tower-fatalities

Breast cancer patient allegedly fired twice while seeking treatment
Connie Robinson has been fighting breast cancer for the past three years. That battle alone is enough for one person to endure. But, during that same period, Robinson says she has been fighting for her right to work. The Daily Mail reports that Robinson has been fired twice because of technicalities from various medical and disabilities laws that are suppose to protect people like her.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/connie-robinson-cancer-fired_n_1533385.html

Lauren Odes, former Native Intimates employee, claims she was fired over ‘too hot’ appearance
Lauren Odes, a data entry professional, claims she was fired because she was too busty and dressed too provocatively for her Orthodox Jewish employers at wholesale lingerie company Native Intimates.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/22/lauren-odes-native-intimates-fired_n_1535498.html

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More American die in their workplaces each year than died during 10 years of war in Iraq | via @iWatch

More American die in their workplaces each year than died during 10 years of war in Iraq
4,690 people were killed at work in 2010, up three percent from 2009, the Center for Public Integrity reports. That means that more Americans died in their workplaces in one year than died during the entire war in Iraq. But while Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to protect defense spending from budget cuts, they are simultaneously looking to defund the agency that protects workers from physical harm in the workplace.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/05/21/487563/workers-die-iraq/

New York minimum wage raise remains blocked by Republican opposition, governor’s indifference
The New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage from the federal level of $7.25 an hour to a more livable $8.50 an hour, but the bill is stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate, with a big assist from Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s refusal to champion the measure.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/21/1093477/-New-York-minimum-wage-raise-remains-blocked-by-Republican-opposition-governor-s-indifference

Obama’s plan to stick it to poultry workers
As I reported a while back, the USDA is pushing a new regime for industrial-scale poultry slaughterhouses: The agency wants to fire its own inspectors and let the poultry companies oversee their own kill lines. And that’s not all—the proposed new rules would allow the companies dramatically speed up those company-inspected kill lines.
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/05/obamas-plan-stick-it-poultry-workers

OSHA establishes whistleblower protection advisory committee
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee. This body will make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor on ways to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of OSHA’s administration of whistleblower protections.
http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2012/us-department-of-labors-osha-establishes-whistleblower-protection-advisory-committee/

Administration safety data initiative challenges app developers
To help kick off the Safety Data Initiative, today we are announcing two app challenges that take advantage of more than 700 open government datasets now available on Safety.Data.gov. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants your help in building tools to educate the public about safety in the workplace through its Worker Safety and Health Challenge. The goal is to develop apps that can reduce the number of work-related injuries, which affected more than 800,000 individuals in 2009 alone.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/18/administration-safety-data-initiative-challenges-app-developers

“I always knew somebody would get killed inside that place”
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, American workers are entitled to “safe and healthful” conditions. Revetta’s death and the events that followed lay bare the law’s limitations, showing how safety can yield to speed, how fatal accidents can have few consequences for employers, and how federal investigations can be cut short by what some call a de facto quota system.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/05/us-steel-nick-revetta-osha

In U.S. Steel town, fatal gas explosion goes unpunished by OSHA
In 2009, 4,551 people were killed on the job in the U.S., a toll that eclipsed the nation’s deaths from the nine-year Iraq war. Yet the typical fine for a worker death is about $7,900. “These deaths take place behind closed doors,” said Michael Silverstein, recently retired head of Washington State’s workplace safety agency. “They occur one or two at a time, on private property. There’s an invisibility element.”
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/05/21/8891/us-steel-town-fatal-gas-explosion-goes-unpunished-osha

Cell tower deaths
The smartphone revolution comes with a hidden cost. A joint investigation by FRONTLINE and ProPublica explores the hazardous work of independent contractors who are building and servicing America’s expanding cellular infrastructure. While some tower climbers say they are under pressure to cut corners, layers of subcontracting make it difficult for safety inspectors to determine fault when a tower worker is killed or injured.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/cell-tower-deaths/

Best and worst jobs for your health
A healthy job is about more than just avoiding hazards, like dangerous material and machines. Every job and employer is different, but there are ways to make any job healthier. Try borrowing strategies from our list of the best, then read on for the worst.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/05/17/best-and-worst-jobs-for-your-health/

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New study: OSHA’s safety tests protect workers at little cost

OSHA’s safety tests protect workers at little cost: study
Government’s workplace safety inspections reduce on-the-job injuries and related costs without hurting company profits, a new U.S. study finds.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/05/17/oshas-safety-tests-protect-workers-at-little-cost-study

Law could put poultry workers at increased risk
It was his third day at an Alabama poultry plant, when Carlos felt a shooting, violent pain run through his right hand.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/05/17/new-law-could-put-poultry-workers-at-risk/

Another loophole for the oil and gas industry creates deadly working conditions
Loopholes in highway safety rules allow truck drivers in the oil and gas industry to work longer hours than drivers in most other industries. According to the article, some drivers are pressured to drive more than 20 hours in one shift. And keep in mind that some of these trucks are transporting toxic waste or dangerous chemicals.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/another_loophole_for_the_oil_a_1.html

Massachusetts workers killed, injured at facilities touted as ‘Model Workplaces’
As federal regulators review a controversial program exempting government designated “model workplaces” from regular safety checks, newly released U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration records detail significant safety risks, injuries and even deaths at the sites across Massachusetts. OSHA, the federal overseer of workplace safety, has also allowed some Massachusetts employers to retain their “Voluntary Protection Program” (VPP) status even after serious safety problems have been exposed or workers have been killed, according to more than 1,000 documents obtained by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting under a federal Freedom of Information Act request.
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/05/18/8896/massachusetts-workers-killed-injured-facilities-touted-model-workplaces

Bostik will pay $600K in fines for explosion
Bostik Inc. has agreed to pay $600K in fines as a result of a massive explosion at its Middleton plant that rocked the North Shore last year. The most notable change is that Bostik will no longer use the direct solvation process — the chemical process under way at the time of the explosion — at the Middleton facility.
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1968162426/Bostik-will-pay-600K-in-fines-for-explosion

Railroad worker crushed by roll of newsprint at Inquirer/Daily News printing plant
A railroad worker was killed today when he was crushed by an 1,800-pound roll of newsprint at the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News Schuylkill Printing Plant in Upper Merion. Mark Block, a spokesman for Philadelphia Media Network, the newspapers’ parent company, said the roll apparently had shifted in its boxcar during shipment and fell out about 9:30 a.m. when the train’s engineer opened the door.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20120518_Worker_crushed_by_roll_of_newsprint_at_Philadelphia_Inquirer_printing_plant.html?c=r

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Football, combat brain trauma similar #PTSD #vets #NFL #workplacesafety

OSHA aims to release draft for measuring state safety plan effectiveness by early June
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to hold a public meeting in June on new ways to determine whether state-run workplace safety programs are as effective as their federal counterpart, in response to concerns about existing measures, the head of the agency’s state plan office said May 11.
http://www.bna.com/osha-aims-release-n12884909448/

Football, combat brain trauma similar
The same type of brain damage identified in 14 deceased professional football players has been pinpointed in veterans who endured bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan – a finding that raises concerns that numerous other military personnel may be vulnerable to similar long-term impairments. An international team of researchers led by Boston scientists said in a study published Wednesday that they discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in the brains of four veterans after their deaths, including three who had survived explosions from improvised explosive devices. The fourth had suffered multiple concussions in and out of the military.
http://bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2012/05/16/boston-scientists-lead-team-that-pinpoints-brain-damage-vets-similar-football-injuries/cxhZosm8At1o5Er7dqjRUN/story.html

Child labor and agribusiness churn Washington’s food fight
For a moment in Washington, it seemed like the White House was finally getting serious about reforming the agricultural labor system, with a common sense rule about preventing harm to child workers. But under pressure from the agribusiness lobby, the administration appears to have retreated from an initiative to tighten protection for children’s safety and health in agricultural jobs.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-chen/agricultural-labor-reform_b_1511955.html?ref=tw

Raising the bar on supply chains
In the modern economy, supply chains stretch across the globe, creating both efficiencies and risks. Severe weather spurred by climate change, human rights abuses, worker health and safety, or environmental degradation – any of these can trigger disruption and financial losses for corporations and their investors. A supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mindylubber/2012/05/17/raising-the-bar-on-supply-chains/

San Francisco left red-faced as orange pants are linked to worker abuses
Prison orange may be a source of embarrassment for the people who wear it. But a new investigation suggests city officials also should be embarrassed for having procured orange jail garments made by people who were subjected to sweatshop conditions.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/05/city-left-red-faced-orange-pants-are-linked-worker-abuses

Prosecutor says Marine fatal stabbing was a hate crime
The fatal stabbing last month of a Marine by a fellow Marine on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row was a hate crime, the lead prosecutor in the case said in court Wednesday. Michael Poth, 20, stabbed Philip M. Bushong, 23, after yelling a slur against homosexuals, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/prosecutor-says-marine-fatal-stabbing-was-a-hate-crime/2012/05/16/gIQAXx9jUU_story.html

Two workers hurt in Texas fracking tank site blast
Two workers were hurt in an explosion at a hydraulic fracturing tank site in south Texas early on Wednesday, a sheriff’s dispatcher said. U.S. workplace safety regulators cited the company that owns the site, Vann Energy Services LLC, three months ago for what inspectors called serious health and safety violations there.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-texas-fracking-explosionbre84f0vt-20120516,0,1812005.story

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Is it legal to ask someone his/her age in a job interview? It’s not so clear.

Senate panel to vote on extending benefits to same-sex partners of LGBT federal workers
A Senate committee plans to vote Wednesday on legislation that would give same-sex partners of federal workers some key benefits, a week after President Obama endorsed marriage for same-sex couples.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/senate-panel-to-vote-on-extending-benefits-to-same-sex-partners-of-lgbt-federal-workers/2012/05/15/gIQAihi9RU_blog.html

State appeals court rejects lawyer’s discrimination suit against Skadden
A lawyer’s wrongful termination lawsuit against Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was properly dismissed last year by a New York judge, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. Rita Gordon, who was fired from the law firm in 2006, claimed Skadden had terminated her because of her age and gender in order to replace her with a younger, male lawyer.
http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/05_-_May/State_appeals_court_rejects_lawyer_s_discrimination_suit_against_Skadden/

Hiring manager: “How old are you?”
It’s a question that comes up often and it came up yet again yesterday: “Can an employer ask a job candidate how old they are?” A colleague of mine at MSNBC.com, economy reporter Allison Linn, got this type of question from a reader on Facebook and we both pondered whether it was legal or not. My gut feeling was this was a no no under the nation’s labor laws, but it turns out it’s not that cut and dry.
http://www.evetahmincioglu.com/web/blog/2012/05/16/hiring-manager-how-old-are-you/

How Market Basket’s changing worker safety rules after OSHA settlement
Recently,Tewksbury, Massachusetts-based DeMoulas Supermarkets, Inc. settled with the feds on a laundry list of major safety violations at Market Basket stores. As we’ve previously reported, OSHA slapped DeMoulas with $589K in fines following store inspections in Concord and Rindge. Then, after considering a the number of serious, repeat, and willful violations, the agency went so far as to demand that DeMoulas systematically overhaul safety practices at all 66 stores in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. That’s only the second time OSHA’s gone to that extreme.
http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hampshire/2012/05/15/how-market-baskets-changing-worker-safety-rules-after-osha-settlement/

Alpha establishes mine safety foundation
Alpha Natural Resources on Monday officially announced the establishment of the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health. The non-profit organization will seek to improve mine health and safety by funding academic and nonprofit research projects.
http://www.statejournal.com/story/18373163/alpha-establishes-mine-safety-foundation

Child care cost hikes derailing women’s careers
Clarissa Doutherd, 30, was able to lift herself out of poverty and climb the ladder of success at a nonprofit, rising from part-time bookkeeping assistant to staff accountant. But last year the high cost of child care derailed her ambitions. At a time when women’s issues have become a political football in the national arena, many states have been chipping away at funds aimed at supporting working mothers and families, even as federal subsidies are drying up and the cost of child care is climbing.
http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/16/11583469-child-care-cost-hikes-derailing-womens-careers

Too often, a new baby brings big debt
Less than half of the country’s private-sector workers are covered by FMLA, which may explain why over a quarter of all workers—in situations similar to Underwood’s—either quit or are let go of their jobs when they need to take leave.
http://www.thenation.com/article/167897/too-often-new-baby-brings-big-debt

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What minimum wage buys, then and now

Age discrimination’s impact disputed in congressional hearing on unemployment
Sheila Whitelaw, 73, spoke as a witness during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Aging, chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), examining the predicament facing older workers who’ve lost their jobs during the economic malaise of the last few years. Older workers are less likely to become unemployed than younger workers, but they’re much more likely to remain unemployed for a long period of time once they lose their jobs.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/age-discrimination-unemployment_n_1518591.html?1337111074

Gay prosecutor is denied judgeship in Virginia
The Virginia House of Delegates rejected the judicial nomination of a gay prosecutor on Tuesday after conservative Republican lawmakers argued that the nominee would press an activist agenda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/us/politics/gay-prosecutor-is-denied-judgeship-in-virginia.html?hp

New York voters support minimum wage increase, poll says
More than three-quarters of New York State voters support a proposal by Democrats in the Legislature to raise the minimum wage to $8.50 per hour from $7.25, according to a new poll released on Monday.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/new-york-voters-support-minimum-wage-hike-poll-says/?src=rechp

What minimum wage buys, then and now
The federal minimum wage was first set in 1938, at 25 cents an hour. Here’s a decade-by-decade look, starting in 1950, at the buying power of minimum wage.
http://finances.msn.com/saving-money-advice/6952105

OSHA probing former Florida postal worker’s illness claims
The U.S. Postal Service said it is cooperating with a U.S. government investigation into a former postal worker’s claim that he has been seriously ill for more than a year after he says he came in contact with a suspicious package at the Florida facility where he worked.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/us-usa-postal-yemen-idUSBRE84E00Y20120515

This week is National Police Week
This week (May 13-19, 2012) is National Police Week, which honors law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, “On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 53 hours.” Events are taking place all week in DC; a schedule is here.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2012/05/occupational_health_news_round_53.php

Obama honors fallen officers
President Barack Obama on Tuesday delivered a tribute to police officers killed in the line of duty and their families, thanking them for carrying the “burdens” of the nation’s safety and paying the ultimate sacrifice.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76327.html

Deadliest danger isn’t at the rig but on the road
Over the past decade, more than 300 oil and gas workers like Mr. Roth were killed in highway crashes, the largest cause of fatalities in the industry. Many of these deaths were due in part to oil field exemptions from highway safety rules that allow truckers to work longer hours than drivers in most other industries, according to safety and health experts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/for-oil-workers-deadliest-danger-is-driving.html

Sick from fracking? Doctors, patients seek answers
Half a dozen of Kay Allen’s co-workers stopped coming in. One old-timer quit. No one can figure out what’s going on. For doctors and nurses used to taking care of sick people, it’s unnerving to suddenly be the patients.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/15/152268475/sick-from-fracking-doctors-patients-seek-answers

Irvington cup manufacturer fined $156K after amputation of worker’s fingertips prompts OSHA inspection
A small Irvington foam cup manufacturer has been fined $156K for 28 safety violations after a worker’s fingertips were amputated by a piece of machinery in November and the resulting complaint to the Department of Labor prompted an inspection of the factory.
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2012/05/irvington_cup_manufacturer_fin.html

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You’d be surprised how many lawmakers think #LGBT #workplace #discrimination is OK/doesn’t exist

New research meta-analysis makes compelling case for nondiscrimination protections
The Center for American Progress, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law released a comprehensive database of research documenting the immediate need for federal policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The findings of the research contained in this database are consistent and conclusive: LGBT workplace discrimination is a pervasive and persistent problem that requires an immediate solution.
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2012/05/08/new-research-meta-analysis-makes-compelling-case-for-nondiscrimination-protections/

GOP Rep. Lankford explains why it should be legal to fire someone for being gay: ‘It’s a choice issue’
Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) told ThinkProgress last week that he believes someone should be able to be fired for his or her sexual orientation. In a conversation on Capitol Hill, Lankford expressed his strong belief that being gay is a choice, and that LGBT workers should not be protected from workplace discrimination because it’s something they can change.
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/05/14/482200/lankford-fired-gay/

Allen West: LGBT workplace discrimination doesn’t exist
Rep. Allen West (R-Fl.) doesn’t think that laws protecting LGBT workers are necessary because he says people are never fired because of they are gay.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/allen-west-gay-rights-_n_1509725.html

Best and worst states for working mothers: a state-by-state analysis
Eighteen states got the grade of “F” in a new analysis on workplace rights for new parents. According to a report by the National Partnership for Women & Families called Expecting Better, states in this country still have a long way to go in adequately supporting working moms and dads. When the organization looked at categories such as paid family leave benefits, flexible use of sick days and workplace support for nursing mothers, only California and Connecticut received the grade of “A-.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/11/working-mothers-_n_1504616.html

Police at California mental hospitals want to carry guns
A move to give police at state mental hospitals such as Atascadero State Hospital the freedom to carry guns has exposed a rare rift between two state employee unions over workplace safety. Without guns, the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association says, the officers they represent at five mental hospitals are in grave danger when transporting patients, patrolling hospital grounds and conducting traffic stops.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/05/13/2064917/mental-hospital-police-guns-california.html

3 named to examine US mine safety improvements
Three experts on mine and workplace safety and health were named Monday to research ways to make U.S. coal mines safer as part of Alpha Natural Resources Inc.’s settlement with the federal government following the nation’s worst mine disaster in 40 years.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57433704/3-named-to-examine-us-mine-safety-improvements/

“Jared did everything right”
Those were the first words out of the mouth of the Southwest Airlines’ official when describing the incident on January 27, 2012 at Dulles International Airport that claimed the life of 25 year-old employee Jared Patrick Dodson. The five-year employee was driving a luggage cart when he was fatally struck by a three-story people mover used to transfer passengers across the airport tarmac.
http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2012/05/jared_did_everything_right.php

Josue Diaz: Workplace whistleblower gets temporary deportation reprieve
A Louisiana immigration court rebuffed the government’s efforts this week to deport an undocumented immigrant who came to the attention of authorities after raising questions about workplace safety issues. Diaz, part of the so-called “Southern 32,” received national attention when immigration authorities noticed him and the other men after they exposed possible civil rights violations and workplace wrongdoing — including safety violations and problems receiving pay.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/josue-diaz-workplace-whistleblower_n_1507078.html

Comcare to appeal ruling in favour of woman injured while having sex on work trip
The battle for compensation is not over for a woman who was injured while having sex in a motel on a work trip. Comcare, the Federal Government workplace safety body, has lodged an appeal against the Federal Court decision that the public servant, aged in her late 30s, was entitled to workers’ compensation.
http://www.news.com.au/national/comcare-to-appeal-ruling-in-favour-of-woman-injured-while-having-sex-on-work-trip/story-e6frfkvr-1226353507036#ixzz1usOScxhG

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