Virginia is considering a bill aimed at getting out in front of workplace violence by allowing companies to communicate freely with police about potential perpetrators.
Legislation introduced by Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, would grant civil immunity to employers who share information about violent acts or threats made by current or former employees to potential employers or law enforcement.
Bullying – specifically racial bullying – appears to be behind a workplace violence incident yesterday in suburban Detroit that left one person dead, another critically injured and a third facing life in prison.
Police are saying that the double shooting at Reliable Fence Company in Clinton Township, Michigan stemmed from an ongoing dispute between employees.
Worker dies after northeastern Indiana industrial accident
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say a worker has died in an accident at an industrial facility in northeastern Indiana. The Allen County sheriff’s department says the woman got stuck in a machine at Fort Wayne Plastics on Sunday afternoon.
Firefighter battling SoCal wildfire dies from ‘thermal injuries, smoke inhalation’
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A firefighter died Thursday while working a colossal wildfire burning in coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles that has become the fourth largest in California history. Cory Iverson was an engineer with a state fire engine strike team based in San Diego. Iverson, 32, is survived by his pregnant wife and a 2-year-old daughter, said Fire Chief Ken Pimlott of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In the unlikely event that anyone out there was thinking that workplace fatalities were fading into the past, check out the newest Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries that was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. According to BLS, 5,190 fatal work injuries died on the job in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015 and the third year in a row the number has increased.
There were a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported yesterday.
This is the third consecutive increase in annual workplace fatalities and the first time more than 5,000 fatalities have been recorded by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) since 2008.
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta testified last Thursday at a hearing before the full House Education and Workforce Committee, and although I take great pleasure in (deservedly) criticizing Trump administration appointees, he wasn’t terrible — as Trump appointees go. Now let me qualify a bit. I’m focusing only on workplace safety issues, not on any wage and hour, apprenticeship or other labor issues that were addressed during the hearing. Second, his performance varied from fairly decent (regarding enforcement issues) to pretty bad (regarding standard setting and staffing.)
Reviews continue to pour in about President Trumps long delayed nomination of Scott Mugno to be the next Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. In addition to my original post, we have already checked in with Katie Tracy at the Center for Progressive Reform and on the business side, Eric Conn of the law firm Conn Maciel Carey.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which will consider Mugno’s nomination, issued a rather cautious statement:
Rockford police officer killed after traffic stop
ROCKFORD, Ill. — A Rockford police officer was killed in the line of duty, and a man he pulled over was also killed, after the two were involved in a “scuffle” early Sunday, according to officials. Rockford Chief of Police Dan O’Shea said 30-year-old Officer Jamie Cox, who had been on the force for about a year, pulled over 49-year-old Eddie Patterson as he drove a small pickup truck near the northwest suburb around 1 a.m. Sunday.
The man likely to become the next head of OSHA will first have to face a Senate review process – and safety advocacy groups like National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) have some ideas about the topics that should be covered during those sessions.
Scott Mugno, vice president for safety, sustainability and vehicle maintenance at FedEx Ground in Pittsburgh, Pa.. has been nominated by President Trump to lead the agency.
