David Michaels, PhD, MPH, is Professor, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, and former Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA (2009-2017).
When you think about “sustainability,” what comes to mind? Energy consumption, emissions reductions, polar bears, recycling, the triple bottom line? Most commonly it is a concept that has been associated with the environmental impacts of activities and decisions, but sustainability is about more than being green; it’s also about people.
Knowledge is power, and when it comes to health and safety, knowledge has the power to save lives.
For decades, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has required companies to provide health and safety reports for review.
For some workers, a simple trip to the bathroom could result in the loss of a job.
Poultry-processing workers are sometimes disciplined for taking bathroom breaks while at work because there is no one available to fill in for them if they step away from the production line.
Wireless services have opened up avenues of communication and resources unlike any in history. We rely on these connections to stay in touch with friends and family members, operate businesses and communicate on a global scale.
...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.
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.
OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels answers the questions that were asked most frequently during the agency's recent Twitter chat about the new severe incident reporting requirements that go into effect Jan. 1.
I have been promoting that message since I became head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration almost three years ago. It is supported by empirical evidence—and now—it’s been confirmed by a peer-reviewed study published in Science, one of the world’s top scientific journals.
