State investigations at New York nail salons uncover widespread violations; Oklahoma regulators rule that state law allowing employers to opt out of workers’ compensation is unconstitutional; EPA proposes new safety rules for chemical facilities; and reporters at Reuters investigate labor brokers who recruit and exploit foreign workers.
Sick uranium miners and their families continue to suffer, while Congress sits on expanding compensation; trade associations push back against a safety reporting rule for federal contractors; Maine residents to vote on raising the minimum wage; and a new app could make it much easier for workers to report safety violations.
On the day that Arkansas-based Tyson Foods announced $461 million in quarterly profits, a survey of Arkansas poultry workers found 91% did not have paid sick leave.
Federal laws fail to protect workers left out of state workers’ comp systems; electronics recycling workers and their families face dangerous lead poisoning risks; California farmworkers join forces with low-wage food service workers for better pay; and a worker who died during preparations for the Super Bowl is remembered.
The Center for Investigative Reporting exposes discriminatory hiring practices within the temporary staffing industry; a worker dies in another chemical facility explosion in Houston; a new Amnesty International report links tech giants to child labor; and Amazon is cited for failing to report workplace injuries.
ProPublica offers a disturbing look inside the extravagant workers’ comp industry; workers speak up about conditions inside hospital hotels; New York’s governor announces plan to raise minimum wages for state university workers; and a worker is killed at a Ford Motor Company plant in Chicago.
Education
Mapping technique reveals spatial clustering of workplace injuries and potential new venues for outreach
A re-run from June 26, 2015: A common hurdle in the field of occupational health and safety is delivering what can sometimes be life-saving information to the people who need it most. After all, not all employers are amenable to workplace health and safety education. But what if safety advocates could find and connect with the most at-risk workers out in the community? Perhaps even reach vulnerable workers with safety education before they experience an injury at work?
Education
Chicago organizers take on domestic worker health and safety: ‘We start with the idea that everyone deserves dignity and respect’
Re-run from May 26, 2015: After 18 years as a professional house cleaner in the suburbs of Chicago, Magdalena Zylinska says she feels very lucky. Unlike many of her fellow domestic workers, she hasn’t sustained any serious injuries.
Reporters at the Center for Public Integrity investigate the nation’s third wave of asbestos disease; garment workers in Bangladesh continue to fight for safety and dignity in the workplace; Seattle becomes the first U.S. city to allow Uber drivers to organize; and OSHA sends its silica rule to the White House.
The importance of protecting vulnerable workers in efforts to combat climate change; Dallas officials vote for mandatory rest breaks; University of Chicago’s nontenured instructors vote to form a union; and Cal/OSHA launches investigation into porn production company.