Man found dead, pinned underneath Bobcat in York County-
PARADISE TWP., PA — A New Oxford man died Monday afternoon after being pinned underneath a piece of construction equipment. Shane Hockensmith, 30, was found unresponsive — and determined dead — under a Bobcat in the first block of Beaver Creek Road around 4:12 p.m., according to the York County Coroner’s Office.
In a move that surprised and pleased food and worker safety advocates, the USDA has denied a bid by the U.S. poultry industry to allow inspection lines to speed up. It was the second defeat for the National Chicken Council (NCC), which had attempted to get the limit raised under the Obama administration.
Skyrocketing demand for automation has dramatically increased the number of robots deployed by industry to over 1.5 million. Meanwhile, collaborative robots or "co-bots" are making their way into new work environments, such as light manufacturing, fulfillment centers, and agriculture.
A Georgia poultry processor exposed its employees to amputation, fall and noise hazards, according to OSHA, which has cited Gainesville-based Koch Foods for multiple safety and health violations at its poultry processing plant. The company faces proposed penalties of $208,977.
OSHA has cited Supplyside USA of Lenox, Illinois for machine safety violations after an employee was injured while conducting maintenance on equipment. The pallet manufacturer faces $91,832 in proposed penalties for two repeated, six serious, and three other-than-serious violations.
AMES, Iowa — An Ames company has confirmed one of its employees died as a result of an accident on the job. At approximately 4 p.m. on Thursday, Danfoss employee John Lavery, 45, was working at the company’s 13th Street location. A preliminary investigation revealed the safety hood on a motor testing operation fell and struck Lavery.
It has been a year since Donald Trump took office. Despite promising to be a friend of workers, Trump has spent much of his first year making our workplaces less safe.
AFL-CIO Director of Safety and Health Peg Seminario described Trump's actions:
Virginia is considering a bill aimed at getting out in front of workplace violence by allowing companies to communicate freely with police about potential perpetrators.
Legislation introduced by Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, would grant civil immunity to employers who share information about violent acts or threats made by current or former employees to potential employers or law enforcement.
Serious injuries to two employees brought OSHA inspectors to a vinyl floor manufacturing facility in Fostoria, Ohio, where they found multiple safety violations. Nox US LLC, an Ohio manufacturer of luxury vinyl tile, now faces $514,236 in proposed penalties and has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Both injuries occurred in June 2017.
One sign that anti-OSHA conservatives are getting nervous about articles (and television appearances) highlighting the declining number of OSHA inspectors are articles questioning whether government plays a useful role in protecting workers. In this case, the Reason Foundation, which “advances a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law,” has concluded that reducing the number of OSHA inspectors has no effect on workplace safety.
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