worker compensation News

On this week's edition of EHS This Week we take a look at the top stories in environment, health and safety news, including: Cal-OSHA's investigation of a scary roller coaster mishap. A downward trend in workers' compensation costs across the U.S. Great news on wind power trajectories and a whole lot more. Remember to write us with your suggestions, questions and ...

Aug. 3, 2012

By Intelex Technologies Inc.

Following the 9/11 tragedy, the US government made enormous efforts to compensate the families of people who died when the Twin Towers were attacked. Not all victims have been compensated, however. There are people who worked and volunteered on the day of the attacks and in the days and weeks afterwards who may develop life-threatening diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos, but are ...

Apr. 18, 2008

By Asbestos.com, The Asbestos & Mesothelioma Center

Asphalt Specialists Inc. has been found in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for wrongfully terminating a foreman and two truck drivers. They had raised safety concerns after being directed to violate U.S. Department of ...

Aug. 18, 2014

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. Approximately 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, and an additional 9 million are exposed to chemicals that can damage hearing or balance functions of the ear. An estimated $242 million ...

Mar. 16, 2016

By American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH)

Absolute Waste Removal has been found in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for wrongfully terminating a truck driver for raising safety concerns during the reorganization of company routes. Headquartered in Clear Lake, Absolute Waste Removal was ordered to reinstate the driver to his former ...

Apr. 24, 2014

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. According to NIOSH, 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work, and an additional 9 million are exposed to chemicals that can damage hearing or balance functions of the ear. This figures result in ...

May 6, 2016

By VOETS, LLC

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today launched a new educational Web resource, http://www.osha.gov/hospitals, which has extensive materials to help hospitals prevent worker injuries, assess workplace safety needs, enhance safe patient handling programs, and implement safety and health management systems. The materials include ...

Jan. 15, 2014

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the winners of its Worker Safety and Health App Challenge. Prizes totaling $30,000 are being awarded to four entrants who submitted tools that best demonstrate the importance of recognizing and preventing workplace safety and health hazards, and help young people understand their rights in the workplace. Submissions were designed for Internet browsers, ...

Jan. 10, 2013

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that occupational hearing loss is one of the most common work-related illnesses in the United States. The agency reports that approximately 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work and an additional 9 million are exposed to chemicals that are toxic to the ear. The Occupational Safety & Health ...

Jul. 20, 2015

By Cochrane & Associates, LLC

One minute he was working in the 8-foot trench below ground. The next, he was being buried in it. His co-workers came to his rescue, digging him out with their bare hands. Moments after they pulled the injured man to safety, the unprotected trench collapsed again. His injuries were serious and led to his hospitalization. The man's Houston-area employer, Hassell Construction ...

Jul. 22, 2015

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) recently collaborated with Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health (SASWH) to develop courses that will provide Saskatchewan healthcare workers the option of receiving their Occupational Health Committee Level II training entirely online. The two online courses customized by CCOHS include: Saskatchewan Workplace ...

Mar. 18, 2014

By Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)

Several years ago, an Oakland, California jury awarded over $27 million in compensation to an elderly couple. A lawsuit had been filed because the wife of a man who worked with asbestos insulation years before developed mesothelioma. The couple claimed her condition was due to her husband exposing her to asbestos fibers he inadvertently brought into their home. This type of exposure to family ...

Jul. 14, 2016

By Clark Seif Clark Inc.

Despite his request for a safety harness, a temporary worker without fall protection on a roof later fell 12 feet through the roof. His fall resulted in his hospitalization with fractured arms and severe contusions. The employer, Cotton Commercial USA Inc. in Katy, Texas, waited three days to report the injury, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's ...

Jul. 22, 2015

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

Recently, The Globe and Mail published an article that reported that asbestos exposure is the single largest on-the-job killer in Canada.  The publication found that more than a third of approved workplace death claims in 2013 were due to asbestos exposure, which was more than the combined number of job-related fatalities from highway accidents, fires and chemical exposures. The Association ...

Feb. 3, 2015

By Cochrane & Associates, LLC

The U.S. Department of Labor challenges developers, students and anyone else with a little tech savvy and creativity to enter the Workplace Safety and Health Challenge. The goal is to design a tool that demonstrates the importance of recognizing and preventing hazards by helping young people understand their rights in the workplace. Submissions may be designed for Internet browsers, smartphones, ...

Oct. 18, 2012

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

A fall from a third-story balcony killed 44-year-old Jorge Carrion Torres as he worked on the exterior of an apartment complex on May 14, 2015. Torres, who had been on the job for one month, was applying stucco underlayment to the balcony walls when the incident occurred. His employer had not installed scaffolding and had not provided Torres or his co-workers with personal fall protection. The ...

Nov. 10, 2015

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Safety Council this week renewed their alliance to work together to protect the health and safety of workers and understand the rights of workers and responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. ...

Sep. 16, 2014

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service on behalf of a maintenance employee at the St. Louis Network Distribution Center in Hazelwood, Mo., who reported unsafe working conditions and suffered reprisals, including false charges of making a terrorist threat. The lawsuit seeks exemplary damages to deter such conduct by the Postal Service in the future, ...

Jul. 14, 2014

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

Moments before a blast ripped through a railcar on April 14, 2015, a check of the air quality inside indicated a serious risk of an explosion. Despite the warning, Nebraska Railcar Cleaning Services sent two employees, aged 41 and 45, into the railcar to work without monitoring the air continuously for explosive hazards as required, nor providing the employees with emergency retrieval equipment ...

Oct. 14, 2015

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

Employer name: High Structural Erectors LLC, 1915 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The inspection site was at the Route 84 East Bridge, between Matamoras, Pennsylvania, and Port Jervis, New York. Citations issued: On Sept. 3, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one ...

Sep. 15, 2015

By U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)