Workplace injuries - Articles - Page 12

Wearable tech brings lithium battery explosion risk

February 18, 2019

If your employees wear small, wearable devices powered by lithium batteries – such as body cameras – they are potentially at risk from burns or other injuries if the devices catch fire or explode. Those outcomes may occur if the batteries are defective or become damaged. There were more than 25,000 overheating or fire incidents involving lithium battery-powered consumer products over a recent five-year-period, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Anatomy of a workplace fall

February 12, 2019

Moving a ladder while a co-worker remained on the ladder platform led to a fall that – six months later – proved fatal, according to a Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) reportfrom NIOSH. The incident occurred on December 12, 2015, when two men employed by a municipality were dusting crown molding in a meeting room inside city hall. The 68-year-old victim had finished dusting a section of molding and the ladder needed to be moved to continue the task.

Man fakes a workplace fall, gets caught

February 4, 2019

A New Jersey man has been charged with insurance fraud after being caught on a surveillance camera faking a workplace fall. News sources say 57-year-old Alexander Goldinsky was also charged with one count of theft by deception by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. Goldinsky is seen on a video - which has been widely disseminated by the media – tossing ice on the floor of his company’s break room, and then positioning himself on the ground.

Teen worker’s finger amputation gets Mich. company fined

February 4, 2019

Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Tuff Automation Inc. has paid a civil money penalty of $28,474 after a 17-year-old employee suffered an amputation of his right index finger while operating an unguarded band saw at the Grand Rapids, Michigan, manufacturing facility. The minor also suffered significant nerve damage to his right middle finger.

OSHA’s rulemaking procedure under scrutiny

Teenage health care worker regulation change prompted calls for review

February 1, 2019

The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating whether the U.S. Department of Labor under the Trump administration is following proper procedures when making regulatory changes to worker safety regulations. In a letter to Congressional Democrats, who’d requested an audit of the DOL’s rulemaking process, DOL Inspector General Scott S. Dahl said a review of the “integrity of the rulemaking process” at OSHA was already underway.

A FairWarning Story

Labor Department waters down injury reporting rule targeted by business

Eli Wolfe

January 31, 2019

A requirement that employers disclose more information about worker injuries to safety officials and the public has been scaled back by the Trump administration. The Labor Department action, reflecting the administration’s broad push to ease regulations on business, weakens an Obama-era initiative to improve safety enforcement and crack down on underreporting of job injuries. The 2016 rule, which had been hailed by safety advocates, drew the ire of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Advocacy groups file lawsuit against OSHA’s electronic reporting rule

January 29, 2019

A coalition of advocacy groups have filed a complaint (PDF) with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over OSHA’s rollback of a provision in its final electronic injury and illness reporting rule, which was issued during the partial government shutdown. Public Citizen, along with the American Public Health Association and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists said in the suit that OSHA “failed to provide a reasoned explanation” for its decision to reverse a requirement that certain businesses electronically submit workplace injury and illness records to OSHA.

Ergodyne’s new cut-resistant gloves answer common worker complaints

January 29, 2019

They’re breathable, cool to the touch and boast the best oily/wet grip available (along with “pick a dime off the floor” dexterity). In other words, Ergodyne’s new ProFlex® ANSI Level 4 Cut-Resistant Gloves leave workers with no excuse.

Weekly news round-up

January 26, 2019

An OSHA regulation gets finalized – after dropping a controversial requirement; workplace violence claims four employees of a Florida bank and oil pipeline explosions kill dozens in Nigeria and Mexico. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

OSHA eliminates key provision in recordkeeping rule

January 25, 2019

Companies with 250 or more employees will not be required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301, under the final rule issued yesterday by OSHA. That Obama-era provision was eliminated after an unusually speedy review of the rule by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.