workplace safety News

Meat Plant Closures, Absenteeism Rise With Workers’ Fear of Coronavirus, Lack of Safety

CHICAGO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, …

Warehouse Workers Risk COVID-19 Shipping Knick-Knacks, Luxury Goods

As U.S. authorities ordered shutdowns of non-essential businesses to fight coronavirus, retailer Nordstrom Inc. closed hundreds of stores and gave in-store workers three weeks’ pay, calling their safety its top priority. That benefit did not extend to Meagan Christensen, 34, …

How Shaming Works to Improve Workplace Safety: Viewpoint

Can a press release save lives? No doubt about it. At least if it comes from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and it publicizes a serious violation of the occupational safety and health laws. The tale begins in 2009, …

Bill to Make Healthcare Facilities Safer Places to Work Passes Oklahoma Senate

The Oklahoma Senate has passed legislation that strengthens laws related to workplace safety in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Senate Bill 1290, the Medical Care Provider Protection Act, by Sen. Darrell Weaver, aims to stem instances violence against people who …

Employers Taking Proactive Health Steps to Prevent Costly Employee Injuries

A job does not have to be physically demanding to literally be a pain in the neck, or knee, or lower back. Musculoskeletal conditions are among the top expenses for employee healthcare benefits, accounting for about a third of all …

OSHA’s Top 25 Enforcement Cases Based on Total Penalty

These are the 25 biggest workplace safety and health violation enforcement actions by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Note: After issuance of the initial citation, the penalty amount may change throughout the settlement and litigation phase. The …

Workplace Quality, Not One Factor, Determines Worker Health, Job Safety: Study

The terms and conditions of employment — including pay, hours, schedule flexibility and job security — influence employees’ overall health as well as their risk of being injured on the job, according to new research from the University of Washington. …

Everest Insurance Buys Remaining Shares of Canadian IT Consulting Firm Salus Systems

Everest Insurance announced it has purchased all outstanding remaining shares of its joint venture partner, Victoria, Canada-based Salus Systems LLC. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. An IT consulting firm and business solutions provider, Salus was founded in …

Amazon Under Scrutiny Over Claims of Unsafe Conditions for Delivery Drivers

Three U.S. senators on Thursday said Amazon.com Inc should stop working with delivery contractors that violate labor laws by imposing unfair conditions on drivers delivering packages for the e-commerce company. The senators, in a letter to Chief Executive Officer Jeff …

How Small Businesses Are Training for Active Shooters

At a four-hour meeting last month, Michelle Abdow’s staffers got to experience some of the sights, sounds and even smells they could encounter if someone invaded their office and began shooting. Security experts and local law enforcement officers gave Abdow’s …