Tyson Foods will pay $32 million to settle the question of whether workers should be paid for the time it takes to put on and take off protective clothes and safety gear at the beginning and end of their shifts.

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Tags: donning and doffing, PPE, safety gear, Tyson Foods, United Food and Commercial Workers

It pays to settle safety disputes with employees. Otherwise, they may file a report with OSHA and prompt an inspection. This story involves a difference of opinion over personal protective equipment.

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Tags: PPE, protective boots, safety disputes with employees

OSHA is going postal. No, not like that.

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Tags: inspections, lockout/tagout, OSHA, OSHA fines, PPE

Under their union contract at one company, workers were only paid for their “line time.” They weren’t compensated for the time it took to put on or take off safety gear.

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Tags: donning and doffing, FLSA, PPE, safety gear, union contract

When a worker doesn’t use PPE and dies on the job as a result, is the employer responsible or is it a case of employee misconduct?

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Tags: employee misconduct, PPE, worker dies

When a worker doesn’t use PPE and dies on the job as a result, is the employer responsible or is it a case of employee misconduct?

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Tags: employee misconduct, fall protection, PPE

Safety pros know that even the best safety gear doesn’t prevent worker injuries all by itself. But do workers know that? Do they feel their PPE makes them invincible?

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Tags: Injuries, invincible, PPE, safety gear

Several business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit challenging OSHA’s per-employee penalty policy for safety gear violations.

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Tags: lawsuit, National Association of Manufacturers, per-employee violation, PPE, safety gear

After the most recent outbreak of Swine influenza A (H1N1), it was painfully apparent that we as a country were not fully prepared for a pandemic. While vaccines are still being developed to combat the swine flu, the first line of defense is always containment.

Safe2Breathe pandemic masks are one of the newest innovative offerings in the PPE market. These pandemic masks utilize nanotechnology to neutralize viruses and bacteria rather than merely trap or filter.

The seven layer construction provides two-way protection (protects the wearer from contracting or spreading a virus) for up to 24 hours.

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Tags: MCR, Pandemic Mask, PPE, Safe2Breathe

Uvex Stealth® Goggle Family Now Includes
New Over-the-Glass Model

Number One Selling Premium Safety Goggle Now Available with Option for Workers Who Wear Prescription Eyewear

Offered with an Expanded Range of Lens Tints

Smithfield, RI - May 20, 2009 - Sperian Eye & Face Protection, the makers of Uvex® brand safety eyewear, is pleased to announce the newest addition to its Uvex Stealth goggle family: the Uvex Stealth OTG.

Uvex Stealth OTG goggles protect against impact, dust and airborne particles, chemical splash, and optical radiation while offering the highest levels of comfort and performance. Designed to fit comfortably over prescription eyewear, Uvex Stealth OTG goggles are larger than the original Uvex Stealth model while retaining the sleek styling that has made this goggle an industry favorite.

Its flexible, high quality elastomer body conforms to facial contours for a secure yet comfortable gap-free fit, while its low-profile, wrap-around lens styling provides complete coverage and a clear field of vision. With pivoting headband clips and a wide adjustable-slide headband, Uvex Stealth OTG goggles offer a wide range of adjustability and fit comfortably even with hard hats.

For protection in a variety of environments, lenses are available in Clear, Amber, Standard Gray, and Shade 3.0 and 5.0 Welding tints with Dura-streme^TM dual coating technology. Dura-streme combines our two best lens coatings - Uvextreme® anti-fog on the interior and Ultra-dura® anti-scratch on the exterior - for long-lasting, durable anti-fog performance and added chemical resistance. Uvex Stealth OTG goggles offer an easy and economical lens replacement system. Lenses easily snap onto the front of the body, allowing for the use of multiple lens tints and extending the life of the goggles for exceptional total-cost-of-ownership.

Uvex Stealth OTG goggles are made in the USA in an ISO 9001:2000 facility, and are certified to meet both ANSI Z87.1-2003 (High Impact) and CSA Z94.3 standards.

About Uvex by Sperian

Uvex by Sperian is the leading U.S. brand of premium quality, state-of-the-art, feature-rich safety spectacles, goggles and face shields that offers comfort and innovation without compromise. The world’s top-selling protective eyewear brand, Uvex® has been an acknowledged leader in safety eyewear innovation for more than 50 years and is the pioneer of many groundbreaking innovations such as Dura-streme^TM Dual Coating Technology offering combined Anti-fog / Anti-Scratch lenses with 3x longer life, a cost-effective silicone goggle body and MMT - Multi-Material Technology®. Sperian Protection offers Uvex branded safety eyewear and face protection products exclusively in the Americas. For more information, please visit www.uvex.us.

About Sperian Protection

With nearly 6,000 employees worldwide, Sperian Protection serves the global personal protective equipment (PPE) industry, providing hearing, eye, respiratory, fall, body and hand protection. As a world leader in multiple PPE categories, Sperian is committed to offering innovative products adapted to high-risk environments so that workers in the manufacturing and services industries can work with confidence. For more information, please visit www.sperianprotection.com.

Sperian Protection is listed on Euronext’s Eurolist and on the SBF120. It is eligible for the SRD deferred settlement system.

For additional Uvex product information contact:

Sperian Customer Care

900 Douglas Pike

Smithfield, RI 02917

Tel: 800-682-0839

Fax: 800-322-1330

www.uvex.us

Tags: eye safety, PPE, safety goggles

Glen Raven to Showcase Its GlenGuard^®FR Protective Apparel Fabrics

at the Petroleum Safety Conference

Glen Raven, NC-April 23, 2009- Technical fabrics maker, Glen Raven, will feature its GlenGuard^®FR fabrics for industrial protective apparel at the Petroleum Safety Conference in Banff, May 5-7, in Booth #94.

“Protective apparel is absolutely critical to a safe working environment in the petroleum industry,” says Hal Bates, marketing director for Glen Raven Technical Fabrics. “GlenGuard^®FR fabrics meet the most stringent safety standards plus we engineered the fabrics to be lighter weight and flexible so that protective apparel is more comfortable. Studies show that when safety apparel is comfortable, workers are more likely to wear it as specified thus reducing their risk of injury.”

GlenGuard^®FR is made with Kermel^® aramid and modacrylic fibers that are inherently flame and arc flash resistant. These special fibers give GlenGuard^®FR significant advantages versus other fabrics in the market. First, the protective benefits are permanent and won’t wear off or wash out. Second, the fabrics are more color-fast and abrasion-resistant so garments stay looking good longer. Third, because no FR chemical finishes are needed, GlenGuard^®FR is more environment- and worker-friendly. In fact, GlenGuard^®FR fabrics have been awarded Oeko-Tex^® Standard 100 textile safety certification indicating that they are free from harmful levels of more than 100 hazardous substances.

GlenGuard^®FR fabrics exceed the strictest industrial safety standards (NFPA 70E) for thermal and body burn protection and offer the best protection-to-weight ratio available for single layer garments. GlenGuard^®FR is available to manufacturers of protective apparel for the petroleum, industrial, chemical, wildland fire protection, and automotive racing markets.

Additional information about GlenGuard^®FR is available at www.GlenGuard.com or by calling 1-800-630-3759.

About Glen Raven, Inc.

Headquartered in Glen Raven, North Carolina, Glen Raven is a global leader in performance fabrics. Founded in 1880 by John Q. Gant, Glen Raven is still owned and managed by his descendents. The company is renowned for its specialty fabrics marketed under such well-known brand names as Sunbrella^®, GlenGuard^®FR, HaloTech^®FR, Patio500^TM, and Harbor-Time^TM . Glen Raven provides its fabrics to a broad range of apparel and textile markets from operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. www.GlenRaven.com. 1-800-630-3759.

Tags: PPE

Once again, a federal court has taken up the question of whether employers have to pay workers for their time spent putting on and taking off safety gear. In this case, the employer has lost the initial round in court.

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Tags: donning and doffing, Fair Labor Standards Act, PPE

As of Jan. 12, 2009, OSHA can issue per-employee citations for personal protective equipment and training violations. Now we have an example of how the agency, under the Obama administration, plans to use its new, powerful weapon.

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Tags: chemical contamination, eyewash, hazardous chemicals, per-employee violation, PPE

“How do I get all my employees to wear their safety gear all the time?” It’s one of the top challenges safety pros face year after year. So we asked 290 of your peers about their experiences to find out the top reasons workers give for not wearing PPE.

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Tags: excuses, PPE, workplace injury

OSHA now has a new, powerful weapon in its arsenal to hit companies hard for PPE and training violations when a new rule takes effect.

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Tags: OSHA fines, per-employee, PPE, Safety training

Disability laws don’t trump OSHA rules on required personal protective equipment (PPE).

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Tags: ADA, disability, PPE

A recent survey shows employees’ failure to use personal protective equipment is a widespread problem.

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Tags: PPE, Safety training, survey

Safety News Alert sends our official kudos to San Diego entrepreneur Sarah Lavely for using proper personal protective equipment (PPE) at her small business.

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Tags: PPE, small business, stress