The fatal work-related injuries that killed Harold Felton, 36, could have been prevented had Alki Construction followed worker safety regulations.
From the weakening of workers’ compensation to the lives of America’s nuclear plant workers, it was another year of stellar news reporting on worker health and safety.
The fifth edition of The Year in U.S. Occupational Health and Safety recaps the key events over the last 12 months in government agencies, notable publications by academic researchers and public interest organizations, and exceptional reporting by investigative journalists.
The most recent annual Federal OSHA evaluation report of Cal/OSHA highlights progress made in some areas, but continuing failure to meet several minimum federal benchmarks as well as requirements of California law. The underlying causes of these ongoing problems are chronic understaffing of field compliance officers and a lack of political will in the agency’s leadership.
Restaurant workers in California experience severe injuries and disability; OSHA pushes back against a judge’s ruling in poultry plant inspection case; Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a $15 minimum wage bill; and the women making Nike products in Vietnam often earn poverty wages and face grueling production expectations.
Farmworkers in south Texas continue to struggle 50 years after historic worker strike; Illinois governor signs Domestic Workers Bill of Rights; Samsung Electronics accused of withholding deadly chemical exposure information from workers; and OSHA fines a Tyson chicken plant after a worker loses a finger.
Slate investigates a little-used Fair Labor Standards Act provision that could improve conditions for farmworkers; Syrian child refugees face exploitation in Turkey’s textile industry; OSHA cites a Wisconsin shipyard for exposing workers to high levels of lead; and researchers offer new insights into the effects of Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law.
It sounds like malpractice to me. That’s what I’ve been thinking ever since learning how the injuries sustained by poultry workers are treated (and not treated) at the company nursing stations.
The fatal work-related injuries that killed Kevin Purpura, 39, could have been prevented had Woda Construction Inc. and Sandow Development followed worker safety regulations.
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on Friday, July 16, in Fernandina Beach, FL.