A fire at a Bangladesh factory increases the death toll of workers in that country and increases pressure on retailers who sell clothing made in Bangladesh; fast-food workers in St. Louis walk off the job, demanding higher pay and the right to unionize; and retired football players often face high healthcare costs after their NFL insurance has expired.
Media outlets across the country covered Workers’ Memorial Week events; the death toll in the Bangladesh factory collapse has passed 400; and OSHA has launched a new initiative to protect temporary workers.
Wage theft, employee misclassification, and unsafe workplaces are alarmingly common in the Texas construction industry; the Philadelphia City Council fails to override a veto of a paid sick leave law; and immigrant workers in the US with temporary visas face uncertainty.
President Obama nominates Thomas E. Perez for Secretary of Labor; a new study finds that Camp Lejeune water supplies had even more contamination that previously reported; and temp workers in China face worse conditions than permanent employees.
President Obama will likely nominate Thomas Perez, currently assistant US attorney general for civil rights, to head the Department of Labor; a new report describes exploitation of undocumented workers; and children working in India’s coal mines face on-the-job hazards while missing out on education.
The White House’s two-year delay of OSHA’s proposed silica rule attracted media attention; West Virginia’s Governor orders mines to undertake a “safety stand-down” after a series of mineworker deaths; and a warming climate will necessitate stricter limits on outdoor work.
The Family and Medical Leave Act is 20 years old and still doesn’t cover 40% of workers; researchers find evidence of brain damage in five former football players while they’re still alive; and a police officer protecting polio workers in Pakistan was killed.
Former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 miners were killed in a 2010 explosion, is sentenced to 21 months in prison; 38 workers were killed in the Algeria gas field hostage-taking; and a new report explores how on-the-job safety and corporate accountability suffer when employers rely heavily on subcontracted temporary workers.
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis resigns; Walmart faces concerns about poor safety in warehouses and factories supplying its products; and Campylobacter infections in poultry-plant workers are more common among new employees and those working in certain jobs.
A worker’s bosses refuse to call 911 after he suffers burns to 80% of his body; a new study on Ground Zero workers and cancer is released; and a new website provides resources for working safely with silica.