It’s not a category you’ll find in OSHA statistics on workplace deaths. However, a new study shows a possible link between your co-workers and mortality.
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Tags: co-workers killing you, support in the workplace, Tel Aviv University
A worker with chemical sensitivity who is also called “a fairly heavy smoker” by a doctor says exposure to substances at work caused her to be permanently and totally disabled. Can she prove that, and can she get workers’ comp?
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Tags: anhydrous ammonia, bleach, chemical sensitivity, methyl bromide, pesticides, Russell Stover, smoker, Workers' comp
A recent study shows over the last 50 years, the average U.S. worker’s daily occupation-related energy expenditure has decreased by more than 100 calories. A UCLA researcher has suggested one way workers with sedentary jobs can keep from packing on the pounds.
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Tags: cubicle, fat, Instant Recess, sedentary jobs, Toni Yancey
As you assess risks in your workplace that could cause an employee’s death, should you add “sitting too long in front of a computer” to the list? A potential adverse effect of sitting too long at a job is key to a recent workers’ comp court case.
Tags: computer, dependency benefits, pulmonary embolism, sedentary job, Workers' comp
A Baltimore man has won an $814,500 judgment after he developed popcorn lung from workplace exposure.
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Tags: bronchiolitis obliterans, diacetyl, Kenneth McClain, popcorn lung
When OSHA wants to make a statement with a large fine, it can ratchet up the amount by multiplying violations by the number of employees. Such is the case in a recent fine involving a Midwest facility.
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Tags: asbestos, cancer, protective clothing, respirators, training, willful violation
A former University of Northern Iowa (UNI) professor filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, claiming years of mistreatment by colleagues and administrators forced her to have a mental health breakdown. Now, a workers’ comp commissioner has ruled in the case.
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As part of a public health initiative, the federal government is calling on all states to enact laws that prohibit smoking in all indoor business areas to protect workers’ health.
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Tags: casinos, CDC, secondhand smoke, state smoking laws
An employee says she should receive permanent disability benefits because mold at work was a significant factor in her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). But she also smoked for 33 years. How did a court rule in this case?
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Tags: COPD, indoor air quality, permanent partial disability, smoking, Workers' comp, workplace mold
An administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has upheld fines against an Ohio company. An inspection revealed several employees had symptoms of a potentially fatal respiratory disease after sweeping up pigeon droppings.
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Tags: fatal respiratory disease, histoplasmosis, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, pigeon droppings, worker struck in head
OSHA’s General Duty Clause says employers have to furnish places of employment free from hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. Does that include a smoke-free workplace? One casino faces a lawsuit.
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Tags: casino, class action lawsuit, General Duty Clause, provide safe workplace, second-hand smoke
In the nation’s first criminal prosecution involving the heat-related death of a farm worker, a plea agreement has resulted in small fines, probation and community service time for two supervisors.
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Tags: criminal prosecution, death of pregnant employee, working in hot weather
Sometimes the simplest safety fixes, such as a simple modification to a ladder, can help save a worker’s life.
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Tags: brown lung, cotton dust, fall from ladder, Parkdale America
Two state laws seem to conflict about employees’ right to sue their employer over exposure to toxic chemicals.
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Tags: General Dynamics, occupational exposure to hazardous substances, toxic chemicals, Workers' comp, wrongful death
As the drug-testing industry has developed more tamper-proof sampling methods, positive results for employee drug use have gone up.
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Tags: drug testing, heroin, oral fluid testing, Quest diagnostics, urine test
A new report recommends OSHA look to the European Union (EU) for a system to manage workers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals.
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Tags: European Union, hazardous chemicals, PELs, REACH
New research sheds light on how well we hear today compared to our counterparts 40 years ago. The findings may surprise you.
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Tags: Hearing, hearing conservation, Occupational Safety and Health Act, upper frequencies
For the first time in 50 years, one of the top 3 causes of death in the U.S. has been displaced as one cause moves up in rank.
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A doctor says an employee’s injury was due to turning or twisting at work. His employer says it was because the worker weighed more than 400 lbs. Did the employee get workers’ comp benefits?
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Tags: knee injury, weighed 44 lbs., Workers' comp
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
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