Employees at a psychiatric hospital in Colorado were exposed to workplace violence and bloodborne pathogens, according to OSHA investigators, who fined their employer $32,392. OSHA inspected Centennial Peaks Hospital in Louisville, an acute psychiatric treatment facility owned by UHS of Centennial Peaks LLC, after a complaint of workplace violence was lodged with the agency in December 2018.

Workplace violence strikes in Virginia Beach, surprising data about medical marijuana and occupational fatalities and job burn-out gets some official recognition. These were among the top occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

After an anhydrous ammonia leak sent a Florida farm worker for medical treatment, OSHA investigators found multiple violations related to the hazardous material at his workplace. The agency cited Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc. – based in Belle Glade –for failing to:

OSHA cited online pet supply company Chewy, Inc., after a worker suffered fatal injuries while operating a stand-up industrial truck. The company faces maximum penalties of $14,323 for exposing workers to struck-by and crushing hazards.

Less than half of the states where the drug treatment is legal protect patients from employment discrimination. Courts have generally sided with employers -- until recently. Summary: Of the 33 states where medical marijuana is legal, 14 protect patients from employment discrimination. Recent court rulings signal a potential shift in favor of employees.

Ohio employers can fire employees who use medical marijuana or refuse to hire them in the first place. Medical marijuana is legal in Ohio, but it remains illegal at the federal level and Ohio employers are testing for it like they would any other illegal drug. “Under Ohio law, employers don’t have to currently hire someone who uses medical marijuana and they don’t have to retain an employee that tests positive for medical marijuana,” said Michael Griffaton, an attorney at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP.

A Virginia lumber company has been fined more than $24,000 in connection with the death of an employee last year. R.A. Yancey Lumber Co. in Crozet was fined after the state Department of Labor and Industry found four violations while investigating the worker's death. According to investigation documents, 46-year-old Floriberta Macedo-Diaz was walking to her work area before the start of her shift in July 2018 when she passed by a stack of lumber pieces weighing about 260 pounds each.

Medical cannabis laws are associated with a 34% decline in workplace deaths for adults age 25 to 44, a new study finds. The reason? Those workers might be drinking less alcohol and taking less pills due to legalization.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is struggling to contain the fallout from a data breach involving thousands of companies, highlighting the tension between the agency’s mandate to protect consumers and to prevent reputational damage to product makers.