With a friendly administration in the White House and Democrats in control of Congress, unions are pushing hard for changes in how the federal government researches and reports annual injury and illnesses.
In its annual report on the state of job safety and health protections and performance, timed to be released on Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, the AFL-CIO this year savaged the Bush administration’s handling of OSHA affairs.
Who says OSHA needs a full-time administrator, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, to steer the agency? Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is taking it upon herself to be the kind of job safety activist the Labor Department has not seen in years, if not decades.
The Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, April 30 on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Enhanced Enforcement Program.
Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee, led by U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, introduced legislation April 23 that “would help the nation’s health and safety agencies to hold unscrupulous employers accountable for exposing their workers to preventable hazards,” according to a committee press release.
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced that OSHA will convene a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel May 5 on a draft proposed rule on occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl, according to an OSHA press release.
During a groundbreaking ceremony for a workers’ memorial monument held at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis paid tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives on the job, according to an OSHA press release.
EPA notified petitioners of its intent to reconsider portions of three rules under its New Source Review (NSR) permitting program, an agency press release noted.
Springtime brings new poison exposure dangers, warns the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) in a recent press release. Among these hazards are poisonous plants, snakes, pesticides and fuel products.
The current situation regarding the outbreak of swine influenza A(H1N1) is evolving rapidly, according to the World Health Organization. As of April 27, the United States government has reported 40 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza A(H1N1), with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection with the same virus, including seven deaths. Canada has reported six cases, with no deaths, while Spain has reported one case, with no deaths.
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