A million dollar occupational fatality fine, a new guide for cut-resistant gloves and pregnant workers’ safety were among the occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

OSHA has cited Diaz Professional Construction LLC for exposing employees to falls at a Montgomery, Alabama, residential worksite. The framing contractor faces $31,879 in penalties. The agency initiated the inspection as part of its Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction after inspectors observed employees performing framing activities without fall protection.

Given the expanding international market in chemical substances and mixtures, a global system of classification and labeling was proposed at the 1992 Earth Summit by the International Labour Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and many other governments and stakeholders. In response, the United Nations developed the ‘Globally Harmonised System’ (GHS) which is a single worldwide system for classifying and communicating the hazardous properties of industrial and consumer substances and mixtures.

A company based in Anson, Maine has been cited by OSHA for an employee fatality that occurred at a jobsite in Inman, Nebraska. Smith Mountain Investments LLC is a professional pole inspection company that inspects and treats some of the 150,000,000 wood utility poles in North America to ensure structural integrity. An employee of the company became ill while performing extreme physical activity in excessive temperatures in July 2019 and later died.

Salt Lake County, Utah this week became the eighth community in the state to commit to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030. The county’s council passed a resolution on Tuesday establishing a goal of powering the county with 100% renewable electricity by that year – one which requires local utility Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) to replace fossil fuel generation with renewable energy resources to meet the new commitment.

A bill that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers had a hearing by the House Education and Labor subcommittee last week. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694), sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), would mandate that employers make minor job modifications, if needed, to allow a pregnant worker to continue employment. Accommodations could include different seating, more frequent bathroom breaks, or lighter duty.

An Alabama newspaper publishing company is facing $145,858 in penalties after an OSHA investigation into an employee injury determined that the company has been exposing its workers to amputation hazards. The incident at BH Media’s Opelika, Alabama facility occurred when an employee suffered a finger amputation when their hand was caught in a stacking machine that unintentionally started while being serviced.

An OSHA investigation into the deaths of four employees of an Illinois chemical plant has resulted in more than a million dollars in proposed penalties against AB Specialty Silicones LLC. The company has been cited for a dozen willful federal safety violations in the explosion and fire at its Waukegan facility on May 3, 2019 that claimed the lives of four workers.

ALM’s Consulting magazine has named J.J. Keller® Consulting to its list of fastest-growing firms for the fifth consecutive year. J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. is the nation’s leading provider of safety and regulatory compliance solutions, and offers consulting services in the areas of transportation, hazardous materials, construction, human resources, and environmental health and safety.