The recent decision by pharmacy giant CVS Caremark to require employees who receive health insurance through the company to disclose their weight is raising red flags among patient privacy advocates, but it does reflect the need for companies to hold down health care costs.

A new report published American Journal of Industrial Medicine reveals a widespread practice in the construction industry of hiding injuries rather than reporting them and risking retaliation.

The Labor Department and Exel, Inc. have entered into a settlement agreement that resolves citations issued by OSHA for violations of OSHA’s occupational noise exposure standard and record-keeping regulations at Exel’s facility in Palmyra, NJ.

OSHA’s long-standing VPP, born during the Reagan years and which received staunch support during Republican years in the White House (2000-2008), came under scrutiny as the Obama administration, with a more open ear to organized labor’s concerns about the VPP use of incentive and behavior-based safety programs, took the helm.

A new Government Accounting Office (GAO) report raises concerns about the effect of workplace safety incentive programs on accident and injury reporting, and recommends that OSHA add the issue to the field operations manuals used by its inspectors.

Richard Fairfax, OSHA deputy assistant secretary issued a memorandum on March 12, 2012 to agency regional administrators and whistleblower protection program managers that might have slipped under the radar of many safety professionals.