Posted with permission from ProPublica; this story was co-published with NPR.
A campaign by some of America’s biggest companies to “opt out” of state workers’ compensation — and write their own plans for dealing with injured workers — was dealt a major blow Friday when an Oklahoma commission ruled the alternative system unconstitutional.
From the March issue of Professional Safety Journal: Since ancient times, safety and health laws have prescribed both remedies and retributions for a variety of situations.
Suit seeks back wages, damages for violations of the OSH Act
March 8, 2016
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Lear Corp., doing business as Renosol Seating LLC, and three of its managers for suspending and terminating employees who reported workplace hazards in violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
An adventurous young man takes a big risk, and pays the price. One big standard probably won’t come to fruition in 2016. And a horrific workplace injury uncovers a host of hazards. These were among the top stories posted on ISHN.com this week.
The award-winning NIOSH Ladder Safety App is now updated based on our users’ feedback. First introduced in 2013, the app has received much positive feedback.
Falls – many involving ladders – are a leading cause of workplace injuries, according to a NIOSH study.
Researchers examined data from several surveillance systems, including the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System – Work Supplement.
Fatal falls, slips, and trips were up 10 percent in 2014 from the previous year. Falls to lower level were up 9 percent to 647 from 595 in 2013, and falls on the same level increased 17 percent. In 532 of the 647 fatal falls to lower level, the height of the fall was known.
Early in the science fiction thriller Ex Machina, Nathan Bateman, the brilliant and unnerving CEO of a successful software company, says to his star programmer, “Over the next few days, you're going to be the human component in a Turing test.” Despite the ominous sound of Bateman’s statement, intensified by his underground laboratory’s location on a remote mountain, the Turing test is relatively simple.