A safety scandal engulfs the CDC, a scientist whose discovery has protected the hands of millions of workers passes and fall fatalities were among the top EHS-related stories featured on ISHN.com this week:
The head of the U.S. Senate's workplace safety subcommittee has asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to explain its handling of the death a temp worker who suffocated under a pile of sugar at a Pennsylvania plant. The details of OSHA's investigation were reported Sunday by ProPublica and Univision.
The Department of Labor and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have teamed up again to prevent heat-related deaths and illnesses. Heat-related injuries and fatalities in outdoor workers continue with record-breaking heat waves over the last three summers.
An OSHA investigation into a fatality at an Amazon fulfillment center in Avenel, NJ, has resulted in five companies being cited for serious violations – none of them Amazon.
Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary at OSHA, give a quick, 20-minute snapshot of his agency’s current priorities on Wednesday, May 7 at an event sponsored by ASSE – “Occupational Safety & Health in Global Workforce Sustainability.” The half-day meeting was held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Temp worker safety was at the top of Barab’s list. OSHA is concerned about fatalities among inexperience temps, many who will work numerous “first days on the job” in a year.
“There’s a sense that a new guy’s life isn’t worth as much ‘cos he hasn’t put his time in yet.” Chris Taylor, Platoon. “Temp” as in temporary; a temporary person. The designation shows how much value we tend to place on those in the workforce who won’t be around very long.
In the OSHA budget justification the agency laid out some of its plans for 2015: Inspections – OSHA announced the agency will conduct more health and safety inspections in 2015, with most of the increase occurring in health inspections. OSHA says the reason for this is that health issues are being identified as increasing.
A Michigan farmer that houseshis temporary workers in substandard buildings with broken toilets, showers and screen doors, standing water and pest infestations has been ordered by a federal judge to clean up his act.
April 29th marks the one-year anniversary of OSHA’s Temporary Workers Initiative, which was launched to increase focus on the safety of temporary workers and ensure their protection from workplace hazards.
OSHA has released a new educational resource that focuses on requirements for injury recording of temporary worker injuries and illnesses. The bulletin explains the requirements for both the staffing agency and the host employer.
