workplace safety News

Workers’ Lawsuit Against McDonald’s Seeks Safety Measures, Not Damages

As U.S. businesses reopen, worried workers and their advocates are borrowing a legal strategy commonly used to shut down rowdy topless bars to try and force employers to strengthen protection against further spread of the coronavirus. Workers and their families …

Workers Worry Over Enforcement of Meatpacking Plant Safety Recommendations

Federal recommendations meant to keep meatpacking workers safe as they return to plants that were shuttered by the coronavirus have little enforcement muscle behind them, fueling anxiety that working conditions could put employees’ lives at risk. Extensive guidance issued last …

When UK Insurers, Banks Emerge from Lockdown, Their Employees Face New Normal

Limits on elevators, thermal imaging and temperature checks will greet a first wave of traders and bankers in Britain preparing to return to offices under new norms to tackle the coronavirus. Britain’s financial sector is working to bring staff back …

OSHA Vows More Work Safety Inspections for Coronavirus as Businesses Reopen

The U.S. Labor Department will expand inspections of businesses to reduce job-site hazards related to the new coronavirus as employees begin returning to work across the country, although the policy falls short of demands by worker advocates. The revised policy, …

McDonald’s Faces Class Action From Workers Over COVID-19 Safety

Five McDonald’s workers in Chicago filed a class action lawsuit against the chain on Tuesday, accusing it of failing to adopt government safety guidance on COVID-19 and endangering employees and their families. McDonald’s failed to provide adequate hand sanitizer, gloves …

U.S. Employers Shying Away From Using Coronavirus ‘Immunity’ Tests in Reopening

U.S. employers have cooled to the idea of testing workers for possible immunity to the coronavirus as they prepare to reopen factories and other workplaces. Blood tests that check for antibodies to the new coronavirus have been touted by governments …

OSHA Releases First Coronavirus Guidance for Nursing Homes

The U.S. Department of Labor last Thursday issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart. The alert …

Italy to Protect Businesses from Liability if Workers Catch Coronavirus: News Report

Italian businesses that follow the health and safety rules are protected from liability in case returning workers catch coronavirus, the head of the country’s insurance association said in an interview with La Stampa. While infections are categorized as workplace accidents …

Walt Disney, Unions Agree on Coronavirus Worker Safeguards for Reopening Parks

Walt Disney Co. and unions representing workers at Florida’s Walt Disney World have reached an agreement on safeguards to protect employees from coronavirus, a union statement said on Thursday, removing one of the company’s hurdles to reopening its popular theme …

Few Coronavirus Liability Lawsuits Have Been Filed Thus Far

Businesses are urging U.S. lawmakers to shield companies from what they fear could be a flood of lawsuits by workers and consumers blaming employers for exposing them to the new coronavirus. But so far, court records show few such cases …