At the end of President Trump’s fourth week in office, Scott Pruitt was narrowly confirmed as EPA administrator, a fast-food mogul withdrew as Labor Secretary nominee, and a labor and civil rights lawyer was named as Trump’s second choice for the Labor Department position.
Government
Study: Disparities in occupational injury highlight need for greater focus on hiring practices
Fewer economic opportunities may be exposing black and Hispanic workers to an increased risk of workplace injury, according to a new study.
Seven years ago this week, six workers were killed in a massive explosion at the site construction site for the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, CT. Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT), along with Democratic colleagues from the House Education and the Workforce Committee, marked the occasion by introducing the Protecting America’s Workers Act.
California
A strategic response to Trump’s “ripping off the Band-Aid” to workers’ health and safety: Defense of the status quo ante is not enough
The Trump Administration is gearing up to make Federal OSHA as under-resourced and ineffective as it can. Our strategic response has to be more than simply defending the status quo ante; we have to rebuild the social movement that was powerful enough 50 years ago to force another right-wing Republican president, Richard Nixon, to support and sign the OSH Act in the first place.
Some federal employees are witnessing changes under the Trump Administration that they know are a really bad idea or could be illegal. NPR reporter Howard Berkes has set up two secure and encrypted means for agency employees to communicate with him.
Obama-era labor veterans worry about the future of worker protections; a draft Trump executive order would allow employers to discriminate based on their religious beliefs; coal miner rulings offer a look at the legal philosophy of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee; and Iowa Republicans move to gut union rights.
Not violating federal labor law seems like a commonsense precursor for being awarded lucrative federal contracts. House Republicans, however, disagree.
President Trump made good today on a ludicrous campaign pledge: For every one regulation issued by a federal agency, they will have to offset the cost by eliminating two existing regulations. “Want a new stop sign in your neighborhood? Fine, give up two stop signs somewhere else.” What a hair-brain idea.
We’re just a humble little public health blog. But we can still do our part. If you or someone you know need help getting health insurance coverage before next week’s enrollment deadline on Jan. 31, here are some good resources.
I can thank the Trump Administration for providing a new phrase to describe how the poultry industry distorts information about working conditions in its plants. Assertions about injury prevention and medical treatment are debunked in a new paper published in the Journal of Safety Research.