OSHA administrator David Michaels has called for a new emphasis on the health regulation side of the agency. Recent fines received by one company show the potential impact of this new emphasis.
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Tags: health fines, hexavalent chromium, lead, permissible exposure limit
OSHA has placed 20 to 25 of its inspectors at the staging areas for cleanup of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While early concerns centered around exposure to oil and fumes, OSHA officials are finding another problem:
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Tags: BP, Gulf of Mexico, heat stroke, OSHA
Here’s the latest workplace health hazard: keyboards. And part of the problem is what mice (the animal kind) are doing on your keyboards at night while you’re not around.
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Tags: E. coli, health hazard, keyboard
Marijuana is now legal as a prescription painkiller in 14 states. But what if you have a drug-free-workplace policy?
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Tags: drug-free workplace, medical marijuana, prescription painkiller
It’s a fact: Dust, temperature and humidity factor into asthma attacks. But how can you tell if asthma is an ongoing disability?
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Tags: asthma, dust, permanent disability, temperature and humidity
Do antibacterial soaps do more harm than good? A government agency is looking into that.
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Tags: antibacterial soap, FDA, triclosan
A New Jersey state appeals court has upheld a record $30.3 million jury award in an asbestos-related mesothelioma lawsuit. The case is also noteworthy because of the test recognized by the court for a mesothelioma case.
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Tags: asbestos, mesothelioma, record jury award
The federal government has reversed a ban on flying for pilots taking antidepressants. Part of the reason: Antidepressants have advanced to the point where the risk of the drugs being a safety hazard has subsided.
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Tags: antidepressants, drowsiness, Federal Aviation Administration, pilots
An employee who said a co-worker’s perfume made her throat “close a little” will receive $100,000 from her employer in a settlement. The company will also have to enact a new policy on personal scents.
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Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, Crystal deodorant, perfume allergy, scents
Safety pros know that employees’ health is an important factor in their workplace safety. But how far should companies go to change workers’ personal habits, such as eating, for the sake of safety?
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Tags: Body mass index, commercial drivers, FMCSA, sleep apnea, wellness program
When we ask safety pros about their jobs, they often say their days are never boring. Turns out that’s a good thing in more ways than one.
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Tags: bored to death, new study, tedious jobs
Imagine a workplace safety and health lawsuit involving more than 9,000 plaintiffs, 90 government agencies and private companies, tons of pages of court documents, and several hundred lawyers. It’s the 9/11 Ground Zero case.
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Tags: 9/11, Ground Zero, safety and health lawsuit
If couch potatoes are people who sit too long in front of their TVs, are modern office workers desk potatoes?
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Tags: couch potatoes, heart disease, sedentary, TrekDesk, watching TV
A healthcare group has called on California to require use of condoms in the production of adult films.
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Tags: adult film industry, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Cal/OSHA, condoms, HIV
Disinfectants can be useful in limiting spread of any type of influenza, including swine flu. But what exactly can these products do, and what can’t they do?
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Tags: disinfectants, EPA, H1N1, swine flu
Public health experts say company sick-time policies may be helping H1N1 (swine) flu spread more easily.
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Tags: H1N1, paid sick days, swine flu
As states pass non-smoking laws, fewer service employees are exposed to customers’ second-hand smoke. But should companies be liable for their workers who still encounter it on the job? Some businesses are facing lawsuits.
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Tags: lawsuit, non-smoking laws, second-hand smoke
What measure to prevent the spread of H1N1 (swine) flu do you hear about most in the media? For the moment – until the H1N1 vaccine is available, it’s hand washing. But does it really hinder the spread of swine flu?
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Tags: Centers for Disease Control, flu shot, H1N1 swine flu, hand washing, send employees home
When it comes to workplace injuries, have you ever asked yourself, “Is there something in the water?” A recent magazine article kinda suggests that.
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Tags: Men's Health, top 10 accident-prone cities, workplace injuries
A diabetic employee can’t control his hypoglycemic episodes. In recent episodes, he’s become disoriented around dangerous equipment and threatened violence against co-workers. Can you fire him for safety reasons, or is he protected under disability law?
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Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, diabetes, disability, fire worker for safety reasons, hypoglycemic episode
Imagine this: An employee, who happens to be morbidly obese, is injured at work. Doctors say, before he has surgery to correct the workplace injury, he needs weight-loss surgery.
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Tags: lap-band surgery, morbid obesity, weight-loss surgery, Workers' comp, workplace injury
What do you do with employees who have a history of injuries? Fire them and they may sue, but leave them on the job and they might harm themselves or others.
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Tags: fitness for duty, history of injuries, safety-sensitive jobs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released updated guidance that recommends action non-healthcare employers should take against swine (H1N1) and seasonal flu during the fall and winter of 2009-2010.
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California is one of only two states to have regulations that require employers to take steps to reduce employee injuries or deaths due to heat stress. It’s also been issuing fines and even shutting down some companies that have violated the regs. But now a lawsuit says California isn’t doing enough.
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Tags: ACLU lawsuit, agricultural workers, CAL-OSHA, heat stress, United Farm Workers Union
The world isn’t fair. Some people can eat Twinkies all day, every day and never gain an ounce.
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An employee says she was harassed at work, and that caused her “mental injury.” She applied for workers’ comp payments.
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Tags: anxiety and stress, doctors' opinions, harassed, mental injury, Workers' comp
New regulations; accidents with multiple fatalities; the President-elect’s take on what OSHA should be doing. What is the top safety story of 2008?
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Tags: new regulations, Obama, OSHA, top 10
The World Health Organization has declared a swine flu pandemic, the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.
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Should you add “recession stress” to the list of possible root causes for workplace injuries?
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A few weeks ago, cable news seemed saturated with news about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and its spread to the U.S. Did government officials and the media over-react?
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Tags: new strain of the flu, protect your employees from flu, swine flu overblown
With the recent swine flu scare, we’ve heard the plea once again for ill employees to stay home instead of spreading sickness at work. Now you can send the message anonymously, “Stay home when you’re sick,” specifically to those who ignore that advice.
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Tags: CDC, e-cards, stay home when you're sick
Companies face two new workplace health and safety rules: one on food flavorings, another on combustible dust.
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Tags: bronchiolitis obliterans, combustible dust explosions, diacetyl
Just as people are being asked to stay home from non-essential work in Mexico to stop the spread of the swine flu, a pandemic in the U.S. might require similar steps.
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Tags: businesses prepare for flu pandemic, germ control, workplace access and security
California is serious about providing outdoor workers with relief from heat: Three top officials for a now out-of-business farm labor contractor face involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of a teen from heat stress.
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Tags: heat stress, involuntary manslaughter, Maria Vasquez Jimenez, relief from heat
Blanket policies barring employees on light or limited duty from working overtime violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, light duty, overtime, United Airlines
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