worker safety News

Temporary Total Disability Rates in California for 2022 to Remain Unchanged

The Division of Workers’ Compensation in California announced that the 2022 minimum and maximum temporary total disability rates will not change. The minimum TTD will remain $203.44 and the maximum TTD rate will remain $1,356.31 per week. Labor code requires …

Washington Troopers, Workers File Suit over Vaccine Mandate

Washington state troopers, prison correctional officers, ferry workers and other public sector employees have filed a lawsuit to try to overturn Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Northwest News Network reports the lawsuit filed by more than 90 workers …

Oregon Workers’ Comp Costs to Drop for 9th Year

Oregon employers will pay on average less for workers’ compensation coverage in 2021, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services announced on Thursday. The decline in costs marks nine years of average decreases in the pure premium rate – …

Worker Death Leads to $11K Fine for Oregon Winery

Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Agency said this week it has fined a Dundee, Ore., winery $11,100 for alleged violations of confined space rules after an investigation into the death of a worker. A worker at Corus Estates & Vineyards …

California Requiring Vaccine or Testing for State Workers

California will require millions of health care workers and state employees to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or get tested weekly, announcing a broad measure this week to try to slow rising coronavirus infections in the nation’s most populous …

OSHA Cites Missouri Grain Facility $215K Following Dust Explosion That Severely Injured Worker

OSHA has cited a Missouri grain-handling facility for one willful and six serious safety violations, and proposed penalties of $215,525. The safety agency said that if MFA Enterprises Inc. – operating as West Central Agri Services – had addressed potential …

Ruling Limits Safety-Based Drug Testing at Iowa Warehouses

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that employers cannot subject all warehouse employees to random drug testing by designating them as having “safety sensitive” jobs. In its 4-3 ruling, the court ruled that companies must consider the specific duties of …

2 Reported Dead in Natural Gas Line Explosion in Texas

Two people were killed and three injured in a natural gas pipeline explosion in Texas, officials said. The deadly blast happened around 4 p.m. Monday at an Atmos Energy facility in Collin County near Farmersville, about 35 miles northeast of …

Vaccination Rate for Public Safety Workers in L.A. Below Average

COVID-19 vaccination rates for police and firefighting personnel in Los Angeles and prison employees across California are significantly lower than the state’s average for other adults, raising concerns among medical ethicists and public safety leaders about whether unvaccinated first responders …

Vaccinated California Workers May Have to Keep Masks on

California is set to fully reopen in less than two weeks and do away with virtually all mask and social distancing requirements for vaccinated people. But officials who regulate workplaces in the state aren’t ready to go that far and …