A Labor Department report describes the ways in which our state-based workers’ compensation system is failing injured workers. Will the report become a roadmap for reform or another government report that collects dust?
Environmental Health
Chemical Safety Board’s missed opportunity to build public confidence, push reforms
Charleston, WV residents lost confidence in government officials when they received conflicting information about the January 2014 contamination of their tap water. The Chemical Safety Board missed an opportunity last week to restore some of that trust.
Farmworker and health groups submitted a petition to EPA urging the agency to immediately suspend the use of chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic pesticide implicated in acute farmworker poisonings.
New Jersey’s growing temp industry is rife with labor violations, worker mistreatment; advocates in North Carolina demand safer conditions for poultry plant workers; former Wells Fargo workers sue over aggressive sales quotas that led to fraud; and an investigation into northern California’s marijuana industry finds rampant sexual abuse and assault.
Despite all the concern about shuttered businesses, fired employees and lost profits, a new report has found that New York City’s paid sick leave law was pretty much a “non-event” for most employers.
The temperature yesterday in Austin, TX was 97 and the heat index was 104. My USPS mail carrier was feeling the heat in more ways than one.
Global supply chains continue to be riddled with sweatshop factories where workers’ rights and their safety are put at risk daily. There are multiple sources of information that report on these conditions, but an easy way to keep on top the latest reports and company responses is the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s weekly updates.
Injury Control & Violence
Not an “accident”: Emilio Dodd, 55, suffers fatal work-related injury in Lewisville, TX
This week’s snapshot of just one work-related fatality in the US. This one occurred on Tuesday, September 6, in Lewisville, TX
Environmental Health
Dangerous chemicals, dangerous technology – Industry’s persistent push to protect asbestos
Users of asbestos in the chlor-alkali industry do not want EPA to list asbestos as one of its priority chemicals. They claim it can be used safely. The industry’s record of controlling hazards does not support their assertion.
Oklahoma Supreme Court rules against state’s opt-out workers’ compensation law; asbestos removal companies accused of discriminatory hiring; new research finds New York City’s paid sick leave law barely impacted businesses and hiring; and researchers predict that raising Colorado’s minimum wage will pump millions into the local economy.