A worker uses questionable judgment while using heavy equipment. He’s seriously injured, and a test shows he used illegal drugs. The employee applies for workers’ comp. Does he get benefits?
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Tags: heavy equipment, impaired, marijuana, workers' compensation
Two companies face more than a quarter-of-a-million dollars in fines in connection with an explosion that resulted from the combination of flammable vapors and welding.
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Tags: flammable vapors, welding, willful violation
Uh oh. An OSHA inspector shows up at your business. He uncovers a violation, and you don’t dispute it. How do you limit your company’s financial liability?
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Tags: excavation, lower OSHA fines, OSHRC, willful violation
OSHA policy says it will investigate an incident when there is a fatality or multiple serious injuries. The agency can also use its discretion to look into situations in which there was no bodily harm, but there was significant structural damage.
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It’s not unusual for employees who claim they were injured on the job to get caught working or playing sports without the alleged effects of their injuries. In this case, the worker claimed he needed to use a wheelchair. But the worker was caught walking perfectly by …
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Tags: excavator, prison, workers' comp fraud
OSHA has an explicit new message for the millions of workers who participate in the agency’s outreach training program: We’re on your side.
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Tags: David Michaels, Injuries, OSHA
The cries for less government have become more frequent these days, including in reader comments on this website when OSHA ramps up enforcement or rulemaking. One frequent argument is that OSHA’s regulations hurt the U.S. economy.
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Tags: less government, OSHA hurts U.S. economy, OSHA ramps up enforcement
Michigan-OSHA is investigating a fatality involving a front-end loader at a road construction site.
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Tags: construction site, front-end loader, lost control of vehicle, worker run over
As part of its recent “get tough” stance, OSHA has promised to go after companies with previous violations and to re-emphasize health inspections. This case covers both bases.
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Tags: health hazards, lead, repeat offenders
A jury in Alabama awarded $10 million to a woman whose husband died in a workplace incident in 2008.
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Tags: Fatality, fell 150 feet, jury verdict
Safety videos without blood: Will they work?
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Tags: Before it's an injury, blood, safety videos
Randy Newton was installing windows on a two-story building with another worker when he accidentally swung the lift he was standing on into a power line. Doctors say it was nothing short of a miracle that he lived. His story serves as a warning to people who work near power lines.
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The death of a construction worker in California provides lessons about trenching and forklift use.
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Tags: buried alive, falling, forklift, trench
In the first year of the Obama administration, OSHA was busy handing out fines the likes of which hadn’t been seen for eight years. Here’s our rundown of 10 significant fines from the last 12 months, and what they mean for businesses:
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Tags: BP, Obama administration, OSHA fines, prison time, top 10
Fourteen months after a workplace incident that burned nearly all the flesh from the crown of his head to the tip of his chin, a Texas man is waiting to hear whether he may be a candidate for a rare face transplant.
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Tags: face transplant, seriously burned, touched a high-voltage power line
OSHA has released its preliminary list of the top 10 most frequent workplace safety violations for 2009.
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Tags: fall protection, frequent workplace safety violations, hazard communication, scaffolding, Top 10 safety violations 2009
The construction industry knows it’s a frequent OSHA target. Now we know that darkness won’t keep OSHA inspectors from their rounds.
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Tags: construction, night construction, silica
A jury in Illinois has awarded the family of a worker $6.74 million after he died at an Archer Daniels Midland plant in 2007.
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Tags: Archer Daniels Midland, record jury verdict, third degree burns
New York City will begin monitoring its building inspectors via department-issued cell phones and GPS.
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Tags: Edward Marquette, monitoring building inspectors, New York City
Ever want to give your point of view to attorneys who represent workplace accident victims and always seem to blame the employer? Well, now’s your chance, especially after one New York injury attorney released a statement that expresses his bewilderment over continuing construction accidents.
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Previously, we looked at the causes of workplace fatalities in 2008 according to government figures. Now, let’s take a look at where the deaths are occurring.
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Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Falls, workplace fatalities
Severe weather adds hazards for outdoor workers. A massive storm that unleashed a torrent of water with no warning led to an employee’s death at an excavation project in Texas.
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Tags: employee death, flash flood, outdoor workers
Now, if OSHA decides to come to your facility to perform an inspection, it’s much more likely to be comprehensive instead of one just focused on a single problem.
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Tags: construction industry, general industry, OSHA inspections
The head of Oregon OSHA has suggested raising fines for serious workplace safety violations. But some large companies say higher fines won’t make them any safer.
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Tags: ConAgra, higher OSHA fines, Oregon OSHA
A lot of attention has been paid lately to the plight of farm workers who labor in extreme heat in California. But heat stress dangers aren’t limited to the agriculture industry.
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With the difficulty and expense that some parents have trying to find childcare, some companies may allow employees to bring their kids to work. But this case shows the need for strict rules about restricted areas in hazardous jobs.
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Tags: 12-year-old buried in sand, bring kids to work, children at work sites
A construction fatality in Texas has spurred criticism of OSHA’s recent inspection increase. But not all of the criticism is the same.
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OSHA is doing something it hasn’t done in a long time: The federal agency has formed a task force to investigate a state workplace safety agency.
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Tags: Jordan Barab, Nevada, OSHA
In the last two weeks, three undocumented workers have reached settlements totaling $3.85 million for workplace accidents in New York.
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Tags: construction, illegal immigrant workers, workplace accidents
Expecting an employee to construct a proper scaffold from materials and tools available at a worksite violates state labor law, according to a New York state court.
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Tags: New York state labor law, responsibility for safety, scaffold
OSHA is two-thirds of the way through the federal 2009 fiscal year. How are inspections stacking up this year?
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Tags: ASSE, high incident rates, OSHA inspections
U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis had two messages for attendees at the American Society of Safety Engineers’ annual conference: We’re here to help companies provide safe workplaces, but we’ll also crack down on those who don’t.
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Tags: American Society of Safety Engineers, Hilda Solis, Jordan Barab, Safety 2009, Texas construction fatalities
When is a fire escape not a fire escape? When it’s a scaffold, according to a New York Court.
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Tags: demolition, fire escape, scaffold
In the last two weeks, three undocumented workers have reached settlements totaling $3.85 million for workplace accidents in New York.
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Tags: employer financially responsible, illegal immigrants, injuries to undocumented workers
A new report from a local advocacy group for construction workers paints a picture of a dangerous profession and less-than-caring employers.
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Tags: Associated Contractors of America, Building Austin, construction safety, Workers Defense Project
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