For nearly five years, Darrell Whitman was a federal investigator who probed whistleblowers’ complaints about being fired or otherwise punished for exposing alleged corporate misconduct.
In an effort to prevent and deter crimes that put the lives and the health of workers at risk, the Departments of Justice and Labor have put in place a plan to more effectively prosecute such crimes. Under the plan, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will work with OSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to investigate and prosecute worker endangerment violations.
...Earlier this year in Houston, Texas, a worker was hospitalized with broken arms and severe contusions after falling 12 feet off of a roof. The saddest part of this case wasn't that the employer did not provide fall protection for this worker; it was that the worker had actually requested fall protection and the employer had denied it.
The temporary enforcement policy that had been in effect for the confined spaces in construction standard will be extended until January 8, 2016 for residential construction employers.
At OSHA, we gather a lot of numbers. They tell us about the health and safety of U.S. workplaces and help us measure our progress in reducing injuries and illness. But numbers don’t always tell the whole story, and that’s definitely true in the case of inspections.
The most populous state – and some would argue, the most progressive when it comes to worker safety issues – has a compliance officer-to-worker ratio well below that of federal OSHA.
According to a new report released by the AFL-CIO, 4,585 workers were killed in the United States during 2013 due to workplace injuries. An additional estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases, resulting in a loss of nearly 150 workers each day from preventable workplace conditions.
Agency head reviews achievements, challenges at "all-hands" meeting
March 25, 2015
Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to be here with you today to take stock of where we've been as an agency over the past year and where we want to go together this year. I know that every one of you wants to lead a consequential life. That's why you came to work at OSHA. And you've succeeded.
BNSF Railway Company violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it disciplined a sick worker whose doctor told him to take the rest of the day off, according to OSHA.
An Oregon trucker wrongly fired for refusing to drive an unsafe vehicle will get her job back, plus reimbursement for back wages and compensation for fees associated with the case, after an OSHA investigation.